


The Staggering Fall of Youth

by jongkey_krisho



Series: The Heavens Have Fallen, Hell Has Risen [2]
Category: EXO (Band), NCT (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angels, Angst, Fluff, Ghosts, Happy Ending, M/M, Mpreg, Nct and stray kids are background characters, Please read the first book you’ll understand, Sequel, Smut, Vampires, Witches, Wolves, exo are the main characters, its not cringey it’s because of magic, no kpop deaths don’t worry, paranormal creatures, what happened to baek’s ice cream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2021-03-30
Packaged: 2021-04-20 20:21:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22003987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho
Summary: After months of being in the paranormal world, Junmyeon and Baekhyun have many problems to deal with. For one, Junmyeon is, apparently a half-angel and he has a lot to deal with his past. Baekhyun now has to carry a living being for a few more months. Add in the fact that their boyfriends keep getting hurt.What’s gonna happen with Minseok and Luhan? Or the teens that keep meddling in everything? Or worst - what is the witch Zitao going to do with them? Junmyeon has a lot of answers to figure out, and with the divide between the group getting bigger and everyone gets in trouble, he has to be a strong role model, best friend, and lover as he helps everyone try to combat demons - both real and their inner ones
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Oh Sehun, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris, Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Series: The Heavens Have Fallen, Hell Has Risen [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1047354
Comments: 24
Kudos: 27





	1. It’s Shool, not School Junmyeon

Baekhyun didn’t have cravings, at least not yet. Instead, he got the urge to suddenly learn English. 

Now, this wouldn’t have been a problem for his best friend Junmyeon. They’ve been friends since forever, as far as Junmyeon could remember. However, the only difference from a few months ago was that they weren’t living in their house in the woods, paranormal creatures exist, Baekhyun lost his virginity, Junmyeon got a boyfriend, some best friend of his dead mother AND his other friend (long story) rose from the dead and is trying to kill everyone, getting Baekhyun, a cisgender male, pregnant in the process. 

And, despite all that, Baekhyun wanted to learn English. 

What the heck is wrong with this world?

Junmyeon couldn’t exactly argued. He’s been studying Mandarin for a while now, could barely say some sentences, but Yifan had been  _ extremely  _ helpful, showing him how to write the characters, the  _ Hanzi,  _ Junmyeon remembers, tells him when his tones are wrong, and it’s actually a pretty chill language. He only gets stressed writing 20 strokes or more. 

Mandarin was fun, but English was not. Junmyeon wasn’t good at the pronunciations and  _ always  _ read it slow. However, Baekhyun was determined, so, Junmyeon being a good friend, pulled up the flashcards for his friend to read. 

“Pe-pe-ne-ciel.” Baekhyun read aloud in English, then in Korean saying, “a book?”

  
  
“Nope,” Junmyeon answered. “Not sure on the pronunciation, but it means pencil.”

  
  
Baekhyun slouched on the bed. He finally,  _ finally  _ let Kibum heal up his foot. It’s not like his mom was going to see him in his condition or anything. 

He was only one month in, but there weren’t any of the usual side effects yet. Junmyeon had gone to the bookstore and gotten a stack of pregnancy books for them to know what to expect, but for right now, Baekhyun was normal. The only weird thing strangers might see was that he cried over a cookie the other night, but Baekhyun always does that. 

At least Chanyeol wasn’t weirded out by anything. He admitted that he had always wanted kids (if Baekhyun wanted any, of course) and either naturally or adopted was fine by him. The situation was a bit...unexpected, but he has been like any other good dad when their spouses are pregnant. 

Chanyeol was already a good boyfriend, though, but he had been reading those books that Junmyeon had bought. Other than that he’s also been pretty normal. Like bringing a thousand gifts and protecting Baekhyun from everything. Such a good boyfriend. 

Yifan didn’t spend as much time with Junmyeon like Chanyeol and Baekhyun, but Yifan had a lot more responsibilities compared to Chanyeol, so Junmyeon understood. Plus, he liked to spend some time outside with the others, including the wonderful teens that Minseok adored so much. He often liked to call them his children (though technically some of them were older than him), and it was cute to hang out with them. 

The thought that Baekhyun was going to have a little one running around was too much for Junmyeon to handle. 

“I think that’s enough English time today,” Baekhyun said, slamming his notebook shut. “Hey, isn’t Kris fluent in English? Can you ask him to teach you so that you can teach me? Pwetty Pwease-” Baekhyun pouted at him, fluttering his eyes a bunch of times. “You know you love me.”

  
  
“He’s already teaching me Chinese, though, you know I don’t want to learn English,” Junmyeon said. “But maybe he can find time to teach you, don’t you think?”   
  


“Good idea! Then I can ask Kris when he’s going to pop the question for you.” 

Junmyeon, as per custom, grabbed the pillow on top of the bed and whammed it on Baekhyun, who yelped in response. “This is what you get.”

  
  
“You can’t hit a pregnant man!” Baekhyun shouted, reaching over to grab another pillow and trying to hit Junmyeon with it. “What is wrong with you?”

  
  
“Says the guy always talking about marriage and sex,” Junmyeon said. “Knowing you, I can’t even blame the hormones.”

  
  
“Hmm, guess what Chanyeol and I did last night,” Baekhyun winked at him. “Hihi.”

  
  
“BAEK!” Junmyeon whacked him again with the pillow. “I don’t need to know your sex schedule!”

  
  
“That sounds like something porn directors would say- can you stop whacking me with a pillow and hear out my question! Yes it’s about sex but it’s important!” Baekhyun yelled. 

Junmyeon sighed. “What is it?”

  
  
“You know how they say that having sex during pregnancy is good? But there’s a time period when it’s bad for you? When is that? What if I hurt my future child, Junmyeon, I’ll never live with myself-”

  
  
“Baekhyun, calm down, okay, we’ll get the answers. Here.” Junmyeon handed Baekhyun the English flashcards. “Continue studying while I look on the web, okay?”   
  


Baekhyun nodded, wiping fake tears from his eyes. “You’re a true angel. Okay, so pa-pa-peh, uh-”

  
  
Junmyeon grabbed his phone off the bed and starting searching on google, while hearing Baekhyun struggle with a word that-

Wait, he knew this word!

  
  
“Sh-shoo-”

  
  
“Oh, that’s ‘school’”, Junmyeon said. “It means school.”

  
  
“That’s not how you pronounce it, it’s shool, not school, Junmyeon.”

***

“So the nearest sighting was in Thailand,” Chanyeol said. “So I was thinking maybe we can send some people there?”

  
  
Yifan shook his head in response. “That won’t work, he would expect us to head over there. He can teleport, remember?”

  
  
“See, that’s the thing, he would expect that we would expect not to head over, so he will stay safe. And besides, we still haven’t found out a way to kill him yet-”

  
  
“We’re  _ not _ killing him.” Chanyeol and Yifan turned to look at Minseok, who was now glaring at the two of them. “We are turning him back to normal.”   
  
“Minseok, this isn’t the same Tao you met 20 years ago, let it go-”   
  
“Did you just tell me to-excuse me?” Minseok got up from his seat. “Don’t tell me to let it go.”

“He tried to hurt Baekhyun, he’s not getting away with it,” Chanyeol said. “I’m sorry, Minseok, but if I see him, I’m not going to back down.”   
  
“We can save him, I know we can!” Minseok shouted. “You guys don’t understand! Why do your solutions always start with killing?”   
  
  


Kris got up from his seat. “What are you implying, Minseok?”

“Oh, you know exactly what I’m implying,” Minseok said, walking towards the doorway. “Nice to know that when I turn evil, you guys are going to be there for me.”

He opened the door and slammed it shut behind him, trying to calm down his breath. He didn’t know why he just walked out, but…

It just angered him. How could they say that stuff about him knowing the condition that he had? It wasn’t like it was his choice. He knew that one day his time run out and he would be turned, and knowing they wouldn’t do anything to help him? 

It’s not like they were helping him now. They would tell him that he still had plenty of time, that he didn’t have to worry about any of that stuff right now. Minseok really wanted to believe them his emotions were getting worse and worse at each passing moment.

He couldn’t help but close his eyes and let a tear run down his face. Fuck, he was going to be a bawling mess again. He had to control his emotions better.

“Minseok?” He opened his eyes to see Luhan, who was standing at the end of the hallway, staring at him. 

It’s been a month since he has talked alone with Luhan. The two wouldn’t spend any time alone with each other, only talking to each other when they had to during meetings. There has been many meetings trying to solve the issues at hand, from Song’s disappearance to Baekhyun to Zitao’s revival-

Taozi. He missed Zitao. 

“Hey, are you, well, um-“ Luhan walked a little closer to Minseok, who hadn’t moved. “Are you okay?”

  
  


Minseok lifted his sleeve up to his face, drying it off. “Yeah, thanks.”

Luhan nodded and shifted his balance on his feet. “Well, um, see you later then.”

Minseok nodded as well. “Yeah, later,” he muttered, walking away from Luhan.

It still hurt.

***

Renjun threw the board pieces on the ground. “This sucks.”

“You don’t have to say that every five minutes,” Felix said.

“For the past month,” Si Cheng muttered.

“I said I’m sorry!” Jungwoo said, picking up the pieces that Renjun threw. “If it weren’t for that witch we never would have gotten caught!”

“That human looked at the window though,” Jisung said, grabbing the die from Jungwoo. They were playing monopoly, so surely two of them were going to scream at each other at the end.

Chen Le and Lucas were the only ones not playing. Lucas, because he wanted to stare at Jungwoo and say words of encouragement (“I suck at this game” he said, though it was obvious as soon as they started playing.) As for Chen Le…

He had been bedridden for days, but ever since he got out, he had been really quiet. Jungwoo didn’t know what was it that was making him act like this. Was it the accident that left him traumatized? Was he still sad about Jisung having a crush? Was he sad cause they were grounded?

Yep, they were grounded. During the midst of the chaos that had occurred, they had received a stern lecture that resulted into Jungwoo and Felix bursting into tears. Renjun shrugged it off, which pissed of Yifan even more how he wasn’t concerned over his safety, but what could you do? Jisung and Lucas has been shaky the entire time, Chen Le was still bedridden, and Si Cheng remained quiet during the whole ordeal.

They were grounded for three months, the first 2 months not allowed to hang out with the others. Minseok looked upset when he told them the news, and it was clear that it wasn’t his decision. 

Jungwoo felt really bad. Minseok hasn’t been talking to them at all. He’s been ignoring them for a whole month now. He would have assumed it’s because they were grounded, but he hasn’t seen Minseok interact with the other teens either. 

Weird. 

“I miss Changbin!!” Felix screeched. He threw his body on the monopoly board and started sobbing. “He was the love of my life!” 

“Was? Is he not anymore?” Jisung asked him. 

“He’s just being dramatic,” Lucas said, poking a sobbing Felix who was getting the Monopoly money wet. Also, weren’t the pieces poking his skin? 

“Do  _ you  _ like anyone, Lucas?” Si Cheng asked, lifting up Felix from the board and laid him on the ground. “Calm down, I haven’t been able to see my roommate Taeyong either.”

“Well, um-“ Lucas’ cheeks started to turn red. “I-I can’t say-“

_ Damn.  _ So this is what Chen Le felt like. 

Felix immediately got up from the ground and wiped his face, already not crying anymore. “Say it, coward, you know he likes you back.”

_ DAMN. _

Jungwoo  _ knew  _ he was going to cry later in his room.

“Who is it, who is it?” Renjun rambled on.

“Uh-uh, well, um, Jungwoo and I need to talk in private.” Lucas got up from the ground and grabbed Jungwoo’s hand, leading him out the door before locking it behind him.

“He’s going to ask him out, isn’t he?” Si Cheng said.

Felix nodded. “Yep, anyways let’s continue playing monopoly-oh, why is the board ruined?”

***

“Okay, who ordered a fuck ton of heating pads on Amazon?” Wonho yelled to the guys in the living room.

Chanyeol, who was cutting mangoes in the kitchen, looked up. “That was me!”

“Oh that makes sense,” Wonho said. “Hey, Hyungwon-“

“Don’t you dare open your stupid mouth,” Hyungwon said. 

Chanyeol stopped cutting his mangoes and went to wear Wonho was standing. “I ordered some for Baekhyun in case he starts feeling pain soon. It’s what the books said.”

“Oh, cause you’re going to be a daddy!” Jackson yelled. “I forgot.”

Chanyeol grabbed the packages that were nearby Wonhi. “Can you guys stop being so vulgar? You know Baekhyun doesn’t like it.”

“Sorry man,” Jackson said. “Actually, can I have one of those heating pads, Luhan and I were practicing kickboxing and he left me a nasty ass bruise-“

“Get your own,” Chanyeol said, leaving the room to go upstairs. 

They waited until he was gone to talk again. “Isn’t it the pregnant one who’s supposed to be having moods?” Wonho said. “I’m not being funny, I’m actually curious.”

Hyungwon shrugged. “Maybe they’re just scared, you know this has never happened before.”

“Hey, Sehun!” Jackson yelled. Sehun was at the corner, looking at some photo album. He wouldn’t let them see the pictures, though. “What do you think?”

Sehun shrugged. “Leave me alone.”

He’s been like that ever since Zitao’s return, much worse than what he’s been before. 

“Dang, man, it was just an opinion.” Jackson raised his hands up. “No need to get mad at us.”

Sehun out his book down to stare at them. “Opinions aren’t always the right ones, though.”


	2. Breakdowns Call for Oreos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES I KNOW I HAVE BEEN GONE AND SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER SUCKS I HAVE A REASON ILL TELL YOU AT THE END STAN GOD WOOJIN

When Baekhyun dropped his plate of cookies, it was all normal at first. 

He had bumped into the nightstand on accident, causing him to lose his balance. Luckily, he reached out his hands towards the wall so he didn’t fall, but he dropped the plate during the process. When he finally realized what he did, he dove to the ground, clutching the cookies and crying. 

“My cookies!” He shrieked, desperately trying to get ahold of the cookies. When he realized that the five second rule was over, he slumped on the ground, tears welling in his eyes. 

Right at that moment, he felt an intense pain on his side, probably for crying too much. Although he admits to being a crybaby most of the time, it doesn't usually cost him physical pain. Maybe if he screams his throat fucking raw, then yeah, but not usually like this. 

Maybe his kidneys have finally stopped working from drinking all those smoothies. Only God knows when was the last time Baekhyun had touched a water bottle. 

He got himself off the floor and started putting the cookies back on the plate to throw away. Those had been his last batch of oreos, but Chanyeol's duffel bag of sweet delicious candies must still be here around the room, he could probably sneak some of those. And take a nap. Oh, how he really wanted to take a nap right now.

His side continued to hurt, so he decided to roam around the room to find a water bottle. Surely his kidneys were giving up now, and while he was expecting, no less. Even worse, there was no way he could go to a doctor in this condition; he could be studied, thrown in jail, or maybe even given to the US to be in Area 51!! He couldn't do that, he had manga to finish!

He didn't really do anything these days. Read, do his online school homework, spend time with Chanyeol and Junmyeon. Certainly nothing productive. His excuse for the past few months was of his foot, but now he can't use that anymore. 

His side and back were starting to hurt a lot more, so when he found a half-drunk water bottle, he also took two pills of Advil. However, he started panicking when he read the back of the bottle which said you must consult a doctor if pregnant. Was he going to die?! Did he just vanished the existence of the fetus in his stomach?? 

He had so many questions about the whole process, and no one knew cause he was the only on. It didn't help that Chanyeol was a werewolf, that certainly complicated more stuff. 

The pain on his side continued to grow, causing him to groan in response. 

Just then, he heard a knock on the door. "Baek, it's me! Can I come in?"

Baekhyun wanted to cry. He was most certainly going to die at this rate. Even worse, he hasn't had ice cream in months. He could really use a chocolate chip cookie dough cone right now-

Oh no, he ate raw cookie dough earlier!! It's going to give his baby salmonella!!

"I'M GONNA DIE!!" Baekhyun shouted, covering his face with his pillow. He continued to repeat the phrase, only now it was a bit muffled. 

Junmyeon opened the door, immediately running to Baekhyun's side. "What's wrong, Baekhyun, are you feeling okay?" 

"I think k my kidneys are going to explode!!" Baekhyun shouted, lifting his head up from the pillow. "I don't drink water and I eat raw cookie dough! And I couldn't even feed my baby oreos-"

Junmyeon sighed. Baekhyun's dramatics was going to get ten times worse while he's pregnant. 

"Look, I'll bring you some water okay?" Junmyeon reassured him, patting his friend's back. Baekhyun merely continued to wail. "And we can both eat healthy together, don't worry. You love my Southwest salad, I'll make some for dinner, okay?"

"But my side hurts," Baekhyun cried. "It hurts a  _ lot _ , I feel like I'm getting stabbed."

Junmyeon got a worried look in his eye. "Let's go see the others," he said, helping Baekhyun get off the bed while the latter moaned in pain. "Maybe they'll know what's wrong."

***

"Technically, there's nothing wrong with him," the witch, Yixing, told the two. "So there's nothing to worry about. I think."

That did not sound reassuring to Junmyeon at all. "Surely there must be a reason he's having pain."

"Well, you have to remember Baekhyun is being possessed by magic right now and will be for eight more months," Yixing said. "Not only that, but he has to deal with all the side effects of being pregnant like a female would, in his own twist."

"My side would stop hurting, though," Baekhyun said. "I want it to go away."

Yixing handed Junmyeon a bag full of vials with a purple liquid. "He should take one a day, it'll help his body react to the magic and pregnancy better. Also, he needs to drink more water."

"See, Baekhyun? I'm going to tell Chanyeol to stop giving you those candies," Junmyeon scolded his friend. 

Baekhyun couldn't help but whine. "Not fair! What am I supposed to do with the cravings?"

"Crave lettuce or something," Junmyeon said. "And you're not going to get your long awaited ice cream during these next eight months, you'll have to wait a little longer-" 

"WHAT?!"

***

Si Cheng couldn't sleep in the room that he had been staying in. 

This had been his third room during his few years of staying here. He hadn't been here that long compared to the others, but locked himself up for the first few. If three people saw him that was too much. 

Obviously, Luhan thought that it wasn't healthy, so he forced Si Cheng to interact with the others. He made Si Cheng room with someone named Taeyong who was always being social. Si Cheng? Not so much. 

To be fair, when he was found back at Wenzhou, he woke up with amnesia and he has yet to know what his life was like before he became like…. this.

He threw off his covers and slowly inched his way out of the room. Some hallways in the building were always lit, but those were usually for the main ones. This hallway had been dimmed so that you can still see yet not have your eyes hurt. 

The dim light brought Si Cheng comfort as he sat down pressed against the wall, sighing. He couldn't stand living in this place, he had no idea how the two humans were living here by choice. 

Well, one was human, the other half-angel.  _ That  _ had been the talk of the entire month. People were really curious on what the angel could do, yet he had yet to show anything to them. 

He heard someone come his way, but frankly, he didn't give a fuck, so he just closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep, not working as usual. 

When he heard the person pass him, a werewolf, he opened his eyes and was met with-

Well, he didn't know the person's name. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, probably his nightwear. Messy brown bedhead hair and brown eyes, around Si Cheng's height. He was pretty sure this is the first time he sees this person. 

When the two made eye contact, the guy stopped in his tracks for a few seconds, staring back at Si Cheng until he continued walking to the other end of the hallway, stealing glances at Si Cheng again and again. 

When Si Cheng crawled back in his bed a few minutes later, he stayed wide awake, staring at the ceiling for the rest of the night. 

***

It felt really weird not talking to Minseok.

Luhan was in his room past midnight. He had been going through the documents of evidence of Song's group whereabouts. From what they had gathered, it was his group that summoned the witch Zitao using necromancy. How they managed to do it was beyond Luhan's knowledge, but clearly they did something wrong cause Zitao is now hell-bent on torturing them. 

Zitao had murdered everyone who summoned him, so the other members of Song's cult around the world went into lockdown, explaining their disappearance. Song was still alive, and whether he had control on Zitao or not, it was still unsure.

This was getting really complicated. It would be much easier to just get rid of Zitao, and most people in their group had that mindset as well. Why Minseok was so against it, it was understandable, but he had to realize that there was no choice, this was something that had to be done. 

Yeah, it was  _ really  _ weird not being in communication with Minseok. 

He hasn't attended many group meetings, instead choosing to spend his time with the teens instead, claiming that all the adults were pissing him off. When their relationship split, not many people sided with him so he surely now felt like an outcast. 

During one of their serious discussions once, Minseok had explained to him that that was a common occurrence with him. He had the demon blood issue and felt like everyone was treating him like a ticking bomb (which he was, Luhan would think - Minseok kind of has an anger management problem). He was also really sensitive. Maybe it's cause he was still getting used to everything - after all, he's only been a paranormal creature for what, 20 years? That's not really enough time. 

Sighing, he tried to stack the papers again. This was going nowhere. They had found evidence that the cult members located in Beijing had been spotted in the city, so he was going to catch a flight there with Junhui and see what the hell was going on. Hopefully he won't get kidnapped this time, but they were taking the protection crosses just in case.

His mind betrayed him, reminded him of what had happened that last time with Minseok. They had never known what his weakness was, until the time when the passerbys mentioned how he was tied with the obsidian rope. The obsidian allow was such a rare weakness and such a powerful item that could be used. 

Luhan had a chunk of the alloy hidden in a box in a hidden room in the basement with a series of spells that Yixing had helped him put on. It could come in useful one day. He also had the angel blood that he had stolen from Minseok, not trusting him that he said he wouldn't use it. Minseok could become quite desperate at times. 

Where did things go wrong in their relationship? Why couldn't they be like the other couples in this place? Luhan was really envious of the relationships that Yifan and Chanyeol were in with their humans - well, human and half-human.

People were really anxious to see what this Junmyeon could do, but Yifan won't let anyone touch him. They had been trying to get answers from Minseok and the other continued to give them the silent treatment. 

He wondered how things with Minseok were going to turn out. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kpop news first: kick it is a bop, waiting for suho's solo album, gonna try to learn fucking UKISS 
> 
> Anyways, Why I've been gone: I'm sure you guys of heard of the COVID19, and due to certain circumstances (don't worry I don't have it) I have limited access to Internet and don't own my own devices nor do I currently have access to my insta. However, for a few days I Will have access so I'll try to upload as much as I can. Sorry for the circumstances and I hope everyone is safe


	3. Soup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe guys, remember to disinfectant often and remain hygeineic
> 
> Not edited as always

Minseok was really hungry.

He had been locked in his room all day, like usual, and the only thing he has eaten was half a bag of chocolate chips that he found in his drawer from the time he made cookies with Jeongin. And that had been over 7 hours ago. 

It was tempting to send Junmyeon a text and ask him to bring him something, but that would only make him feel guilty, so he threw off his covers and put on his slippers, trudging his way to the hallway to go to the first floor. 

He could really use some of his mother's food right now. She always made this really good samgyeopsal that Minseok would always be tempted to eat all of it in one sitting. Even her rice and ramyeon, the most simplest dishes in all Korean cuisine, were to die for. He could really use some right now.

***

_ "Zitao, I'm so tired!" Minseok yelled, lying down on the grass. "I'll never be able to learn Wushu." _

_ Zitao sighed, walking over to Minseok to lie down next to him. "Not with that attitude you can't." _

_ Minseok rolled his eyes. Zitao liked to complain about his attitude yet the witch had the worst one. Zitao was sassy and wasn't afraid to speak his mind out.  _

_ Yet Zitao is the closest thing he has ever had to a friend, besides him mother of course. When Minseok introduced her to Zitao, she immediately took a liking to the other and they hit it off. By then, his mother already knew that Minseok had been turned into a werewolf, so she was able to know that Zitao wasn't human, yet that never bothered her in the slightest.  _

_ "You know what I'm in the mood for?" Zitao asked him, hands behind his neck as he looked up to the sky. "Your mother's braised chicken soup. I could really use some soup right now." _

_ "Do you even need food to survive?" Minseok questioned him.  _

_ Zitao winked at him. "That's for you to guess." _

_ Minseok didn't know much about Zitao, only that the latter had a lot of powers and he had been alive for centuries. Minseok as well now had enhanced abilities, Zitao explained, and he would also be immortal but could still die from other causes. As a werewolf, he could change form and eat raw meat in wolf form, as well as be subjected to imprinting.  _

_ It was a lot to take in for Minseok, but he was really thankful to have met Zitao during the first few days when he was turned, otherwise, he wouldn't have known what to do. The transformation had been painful and he was left alone in the forest for a few days, making his mother believe that Minseok had went missing and passed away.  _

_ He really loved his mother. Minseok never met his father and didn’t want to ask his mother about it. He didn’t even know if the latte died or left her, or even if his mother knew Minseok’s dad. He wasn’t going to ask her, though.  _

_ They lived in a small village near the border of North Korea, about 30 miles away from it. Sure, they were so close to the start of the new millennium, only a few years away, but their village didn’t have much advancements compared to the rest of the world; they didn’t even own a Nokia. There was, however, a hut with internet signal in the village, and the computer was really cool to use.  _

_ That gave Minseok an idea. He turned around to face Zitao, who was looking up at the sky. “You can make random stuff appear out of thin air, right?” _ _   
  
_

_ Zitao turned to look at Minseok, giving him a smirk. “Not to show off, but-“ he lifted up his hand to suddenly show Minseok a CD of Seo Taiji and the Boys. “Gotta love living in 1997.” _

_ “It’s almost the two thousands,” Minseok said, excited. “Do you think in ten years we can finally live in the moon? Can  _ you  _ live in the moon?” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “I can make my own oxygen, so I guess,” Zitao shrugged, handing Minseok the CD. It was going to be Minseok’s third CD, after two of his mother’s Chinese albums. “If you were going to drown me, I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” _

_ “There went Friday plans.” Minseok got up from the floor, stretching his arms. “I have to head back, mother is making dinner.” _

_ Zitao pouted and gave Minseok his classic puppy eyes. “Can I join? I love your mother’s food.” _

_ Minseok rolled his eyes but extended his hands out to help the witch get up. “You have to help cut vegetables if you’re going to steal. _

_ “I’m not a freeloader!!” Zitao yelled, Minseok laughing as he ran away from the elder, who chased him towards his mother’s house, the two of them carefree as they look forward for the rest of today. _

_ \--- _

_ His mother did, in fact, make braised chicken soup.  _

_ It was delicious, really warm and fulfilling that made Zitao glad he wasn’t human, because if he was, you know how many calories he would have gained from eating it? How did Minseok’s mother even make it that good? She was probably a witch like him.  _

_ The three of them enjoyed the nice dinner, both Zitao and Minseok’s mother agreeing that Minseok had to do the dishes (which the latter complained very loudly, of course).  _

_ “How was your training today?” She asked Minseok, who had to quickly swallow the burning soup before answering her.  _

_ “It’s really tiring. I don’t understand how I’m supposed to have more stamina if I just get tired more than usual.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “You’re not going to see the results right away,” Zitao assured him. “For every wolf it’s different. Even if you can now be stronger, your muscles have not adjusted to the amount of exercise you put into them. Don’t stress out.” _

_ “That’s right, Minseok, you’ve always been a lanky child.” Minseok’s mother reached over to put more chicken into Minseok’s bowl. “You need to eat more to get use to this.” _

_ “Mom, you need to eat too!” Minseok grabbed some chicken and put it in her bowl as well. “You have to follow the advice you give.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “How ironic,” Zitao laughed. “You don’t do that-“ _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “That’s different!” Minseok slapped Zitao’s arm. “You always make me look bad.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “Don’t worry, Minseok, I love you.” Zitao pinched Minseok’s cheeks, causing the other to squirm. _

_ “Boys! You’re soup is going to get cold!” _ _   
  
_

***

Minseok knocked onto Junmyeon’s door, hoping to see if the latter was in his room. To his dismay, Junmyeon was not. 

Sighing, he turned to leave the hallway when he saw Chanyeol coming forward, the latter smiling and calling him over. 

“Minseok!” Chanyeol called out to him. “Junmyeon made a late dinner, I think he saved you some leftovers.” 

“Oh, okay,” Minseok nodded, watching Chanyeol give him a thumbs up before entering his share room with Baekhyun.

He had a soft spot for Chanyeol. The two have been turned around the same time, but unlike Minseok, who had lived close to Junmyeon for the younger’s entire life, Chanyeol always tagged along with Yifan and Luhan to whatever they did. It was unusual for them to stay in a certain place for a long amount of time, like here – it was usually Jongdae who ran this place with Yixing. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. 

He remembers meeting some of the people here when Zitao first introduced them to him all those years ago, but obviously there were some he never met, like Luhan, who he met around 2 and a half years ago. He wonders what would it been like to have met the latter back then. 

Minseok climbed down the stairs to the main kitchen, taking his time as to be careful not to bump into anyone. He wouldn’t mind talking to the youngerlings, but they usually kept to themselves. 

When he reached the kitchen, he noticed Sehun, Wonho and Jonghyun there, as usual, and they immediately quieted down from their conversation when they caught sight of him. He told himself that he didn’t care. 

He smiled a little, though, when he saw Junmyeon near the freezer, putting some food in Tupperware containers. Junmyeon also smiled back to him as well. 

“Hey, Minseok,” Junmyeon said, opening the fridge to stack the container in. “Are you hungry? I made soup earlier.”   
  
Minseok nodded. “Yeah, that would be lovely.”   
  
Junmyeon grabbed one of the containers that he had stacked next to the fridge and took off the lid, opening one of the cabinets to pull out a bowl. “I made braised chicken soup, you know, trying to persuade Baekhyun to stop eating junk food. If you see him with a smoothie or candy remember to yell at him.”   
  


Braised chicken soup, one of his favorites…

Minseok did hear that Junmyeon had taken Baekhyun to the infirmary, something about the magic causing side effects to Baekhyun’s body. It was making all of them extremely worried for how it was going to work out, as they didn’t want Baekhyun to get injured from the process. Pregnancy almost always caused pain, but who knew the difference when it came to Baekhyun. 

Junmyeon set the bowl down on the countertop for Minseok and grabbed a spoon for the latter as well. “I would give you sprite but I gave it all away since I’m eating healthy with Baekhyun together. Sorry.”   
  
“No, no, it’s okay, I-thanks.” Minseok took the bowl from the counter. Usually he would get burned if he were human, but his heat and pain receptors were much better as a wolf. Speaking of which, he hasn’t turned into wolf form for a while. “Thanks for the meal, Junmyeon.”   
  
“No worries, I just miss cooking, you know.” Junmyeon took a plastic container of strawberries and a cutting board, heading towards the sink to wash them. “Like, I know staying here is for our safety, but I just feel useless, you know?”   
  
Minseok nodded. “Yeah, I get it, but your not useless, though.”   
  
Junmyeon shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t really do anything. And I know many expect me to do something with the..  _ angel  _ blood in me but…” he stopped washing the strawberries and turned to look at Minseok. “I’m afraid I’m going to let people down.”

***

Junmyeon had gotten back to his room and was doing homework on his laptop when he heard someone knock the door. 

Unlike everyone else in this place, he didn’t have the ability to identify who was behind the door, but he had a strong guess that it was Yifan. 

He set his laptop down and put on his slippers before rushing towards the door to open it. When he did, however, his eyes were immediately covered. 

“Am I supposed to guess who this is?” Junmyeon teased, raising his hands to touch the person’s calloused hands. 

“ _ May _ be,” he spoke up, his voice sounding familiar. 

Junmyeon took Yifan’s hands off of him and turned to look at him, the other embracing him in a hug. Junmyeon couldn’t help but bury his face onto the latter’s chest. “What are you doing here?” he mumbled. 

“I’m offended that you think I shouldn’t see my boyfriend,” Yifan called him out. “But nonetheless, I thought I would surprise you with something.”   
  
That piqued Junmyeon’s interest. “Surprise me with what? Is it a gift?”   
  
Yifan grinned, reaching out in the hallway where had hidden a box from Junmyeon’s point of view. “Yes, in fact.”   
  
“Yifan, you don’t have to give me a present,” Junmyeon laughed. He took the box from Yifan’s hands. It was rather small, around the size of a thick hardcover book. “What is this for?”   
  
“I saw it and I thought of you,” Yifan said, smiling so wide you could see his gums. “Come on, open it.”   
  


Junmyeon set it carefully down on his bed, motioning Yifan to come inside. He peeled off the tape covering the lid and opened it, peering inside to reveal-

“Aw, it’s so pretty!” Junmyeon exclaimed, pulling out the succulent. “I love plants.” 

“I’m glad you liked it,” Yifan said, leaning in to give Junmyeon a peck on the cheek. “You take good care of those things.”   
  
Junmyeon could feel his cheeks turn pick. He wasn’t use to getting so many compliments. “It-it’s just a succulent, anyone could take care of it-“   
  


“Nonsense, all my cacti die,” Yifan opposed. “But I’m sure this one is in good hands.”   
  
Junmyeon set the succulent down on his nightstand before sitting next to Yifan on the bed. “I hope so. I’ll feel guilty if it dies.”   
  
“Don’t worry about it.” Yifan reached over again, only to kiss him on the lips this time. “He’ll be fine.”   
  


Junmyeon smiled, his hands grabbing onto Yifan’s collar as he pulled him in for another kiss, the two laughing and kissing with the poor succulent as a witness. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all I'm so CLOSE TO TELLING SVT APART WHOOOO AFTER FREAKING WHO KNOWS HOW MANY MONTHS


	4. Witch? More like Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY I HAD WRITER"S BLOCK FOR A MONTH FOR THIS STORY, I WROTE THIS RIGHT AFTER UPDATING IN IT TO WINWIN IT, CURRENTLY LISTEN TO THE SAME USHER YEAH SONG AND T-PAIN'S LOW FOR AN HOUR NOW AFTER HEARING CARLY RAE JEPSEN
> 
> i dont have to say that i havent edited this right i never do

Kibum did not get the purpose of all the paranormal creatures in the big ass mansion.

All they were doing was basically hiding. Despite the large space of the building, Kibum felt cramped feeling all of those energies and scents around him. He had ways of tuning them off, of course, but he would still bump into people every now and then. 

How he hasn't murdered anyone yet was a mystery to him, but it was probably because of Jonghyun. Curse his loved one with that goddamn puppy smile and his dual-colored hair. And just fuck his ramen in general, it was a bad brand. Jin Ramen was better, but of course Jonghyun preferred Shin Ramen.

There were three things Kibum couldn't live without: Jonghyun, this really cool necklace that Kibum had found during the Qing dynasty…. there had to be a third one. He'll have to think about it.

Currently, he was outside, deep into the woods that surrounded the stronghold. He was getting a migraine from all the yelling (not that he could get migraines, but close).

He lied down on the grass at the clearing, closing his eyes to enjoy the peace. He had been living alone for a few decades now and, despite his age, this was a foreign experience. Good thing was he can teleport himself and Jonghyun to his house whenever he wants. 

He stayed there for a while, enjoying the breeze and the sounds of the forest. The sun wasn’t very bright, so it wouldn’t hurt the eyes of normal humans. Felt nice to get a natural tan for once. 

An hour must have passed before he felt his phone in his back pocket ring. He would have ignored it, but it continued again, and again, and  _ again _ -

Kibum got fed up with the tenth ring. Groaning, he took out his phone, pressing the home button to display the screen. They were all from his idiotic boyfriend Jonghyun. 

_ Key can i ask u a question _

_ Key _

_ I need to ask u a question _

_ Please its an emergency sehun is going to beat my ass _

_ Key my love _

_ KEY!!!! _

_ Okay maybe youre busy but when ur done can you like make a dozen Shin Ramen appear _

_ I would ask Yixing but he and Jongdae are busy doing something i cant find him _

_ Kibum!!! I’m going to die!!! _

_ Nvm found yixing _

Kibum rolled his eyes. Of  _ course  _ his boyfriend would ask him to make ramen appear out of thin air over there; Jonghyun, Wonho and Sehun had nasty habits of stealing each other’s ramen. 

Now feeling slightly concerned for Jonghyun, Kibum decided that it was probably best for him to start heading home. Sometimes he really had the urge to snap some of their necks for being so stupid, but Key’s philosophy was to kill only bad people. Sadly, these weren’t bad people-

Well, he supposed that it should be a good thing. He’s read everyone’s mind here and knows exactly what they’re thinking. Like with Junmyeon. He knew that the latter was a demiangel as soon as he sensed him, and reading Minseok’s mind only proved that theory. 

Minseok’s mind was quite an interesting one. Kibum could see that he struggled to fight off the demonic side of him and constantly tried to keep his mind occupied, whether thinking about his two friends or the youngerlings (as the others called them - Kibum agreed with them in the case that they can’t just be treated as children forever based on how hold they were when they turned; the brain keeps maturing, they just don’t age. Some weird science with the magic, it’s not like their cells froze when they turned immortal, the cells just always remain in perfect condition. Kibum, too, preferred the youngerlings over the “adults” any day.) 

Minseok would also think of said ex-lover, he who should not be named. Luhan was a dick, in Kibum’s opinion, and knew Minseok deserved better, even though they were unfortunately mates. The bond between them was getting weaker and weaker. 

He was a really sentimental person, Kibum had realized, thinking of all the people he loved. His mother. Zitao. Taeyeon. The angel Gabrielle. Luhan. Junmyeon. Baekhyun. The realization that he was losing them one by one was slowly killing him.

One of Kibum’s only flaws is that he couldn’t see into the future, but he had a strong feeling that Minseok wasn’t going to make it. 

He responded to Jonghyun with a text ( _ don’t get killed! I’m heading back!) _ and got up, dusting the grass off his white pants. He noticed that he had accidently made a grass stain right below his knee, so he made it go away. 

When he looked up, there, at the end of the clearing, was…

That  _ bitch- _

There, standing, was Zitao, an evil smirk on his face. Of course Kibum wouldn’t have sensed him; they had the power to make themselves unnoticeable. Kibum had it on almost all the time, scaring the others in the stronghold from time to time. However, how did Zitao know he was here?

“Fancy meeting you here,” Zitao said, sending him a wave. “Wonder what you’re doing here all alone?”

“Don’t builshit with me and get to the point,” Kibum said in his normal voice. He didn’t need to yell, he knew that him and Zitao could hear stuff from miles away. “Why are you here?”

Zitao maintained his smile. “No reason. I just wonder why you hang out with those lazy assholes.”

“See, maybe if you weren’t so coldhearted and knew what love is, you would understand my attachment to a certain someone,” Kibum argued, fake smile displayed on his own face. Two can play at that game. “Oh, wait, you don’t, that’s probably why Sehun never really liked you in the first place-”

“Shut up, whore!” Zitao yelled, sending a lightning strike to Kibum, which he was able to block. 

“Nah, I don’t think I will.” Kibum took a quick look behind him, the direction to where the stronghold was. He had to let Jonghyun know who was here.

“You act like  _ you  _ are capable of love, but remind me who locked themselves away for centuries up in that little forest with a big house, like the materialistic bitch you are?” Zitao argued back. 

“Oh, please, I’m not the one with ex-boyfriend problems-” 

Zitao charged towards him, and instead of running away like the coward he was, Kibum charged towards him, the two almost instantly crushing into each other.

What was the point of fighting each other with magic if they had the same abilities? That left only one thing, and it was hand-to-hand combat.

Kibum had to admit, through all his years of living on this deteriorating Earth, he rarely participated in hand-to-hand combat. Why? Because he didn’t have to, plain simple. He didn’t get involved with humans and didn’t plan to for the rest of his life. 

A punch here, a kick there, the two continued to injure each other, the thought of using their magic overshadowed by their pure rage. 

Kibum felt something wet on his lip from where Zitao had socked him in the jaw, realizing that it must be blood, blood that for years he even forgot he had, so he pulled Zitao’s hair and grabbed him into a chokehold position, the latter struggling before managing to grab Kibum’s arm and twist it backwards. 

The two continued like that, one grabbing a hold of the other before they were able to reciprocate. Kibum could feel the scratches on his arms, the bruises on his legs but couldn’t seem to give a fuck as he was more focused on destroying the person in front of him.

The two were exhausted, pulling apart while practically growling at each other. Their hair was messed up, their clothes ripped in certain places, their eyes full of hatred. 

He felt a buzz in his back pocket, reminding him what was more important. 

He stole a glance at the stronghold again, and when he turned to look at Zitao, the latter was gone.   
  


  
***

  
  


Kibum transported himself back into the stronghold in the kitchen, where Jonghyun had told him he was at. Jonghyun took one look at his boyfriend and his eyes widened.

“Who did this to you?!” Jonghyun shrieked, dropping his bowl of ramen that he had cooked for himself to rush over to Kibum. “What happened?!”

Kibum licked over his lips, tasting the coppery flavor of the blood. In a second, the wound started closing him, new skin appearing over his scratches, his blood vessels from the bruises getting fixed. “Oh nothing,” he said, “it was just Zitao.”

Everyone, and he meant  _ everyone _ , turned to stare at Kibum, their mouths wide open. 

“I’M GOING TO KILL THAT BITCH!!!” Jonghyun yelled, balling his fists. Kibum could see blood leaking from his palm where his fingernails must be cutting his palm. “I’M GOING TO DEAL WITH THAT MOTHERFUCKER-”

“What did you do, Kibum?” Sehun, who had been in the kitchen as well, said. “What did you do to him?”

Kibum frowned. “Excuse me? You think  _ I  _ did something?”

_ That’s probably why Sehun never really liked you in the first place. _

“Sehun, can you butt out of this?” Jonghyun yelled at his best friend. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Okay, no need to get defensive over your boyfriend, Jonghyun, I was just asking a fucking question,” Sehun told him. “For crying out loud.”

“Okay, no need to be a jealous hoe, Sehun, I was just stating a fact,” Jonghyun yelled right back. 

Sehun gave him a glare. “Now what the fuck are you talking about?”

Jonghyun laughed. “You’re not going to be able to defend Zitao, Sehun, no matter how much you try-”

“This isn’t about defending Zitao,” Sehun interrupted him.

“Oh, really? None of this has been about Zitao? Tell me who's been acting like a depressed thot these past two decades?” Jonghyun reminded him. 

Sehun clenched his fists as well. “You take that back.”

“Or you know what? Maybe none of this would have ever happened if you weren’t out to get us,” Jonghyun said. “Hatred is getting you nowhere, Sehun, you should get that into your head-”

“Shut the fuck up, bitch, just because you’re getting dick now doesn’t mean you know shit about relationships!” Sehun yelled, turning around to leave the kitchen. “You can go fuck off!”

“Oh you too bitch-”

“Can you guys stop fucking arguing?” Yifan interrupted them. “Now is  _ not  _ the time, now Kibum, tell us what happened?”   
  


  
***

  
  


Yifan was busy tonight again, so Junmyeon decided to head towards the waterfalls himself. 

He sat close to the big body of water, having taken off his shoes so that his toes could touch the water. He loved being near water, loved how calm it made him feel.

Back in their old house, there was a lake nearby that he and Baekhyun would often hike together. Minseok had tagged along with him sometimes, the three of them enjoying simple days of swimming, napping, and eating. Sometimes even fishing, though the three of them suck ass at it. 

He stared at the water for a while, his reflection staring back. Did his mother love water like he did? He didn’t know much about his mother, only some stories that his grandparents would tell him about his father, Junkwan. 

Speaking of grandparents, he hasn’t spoken to them in over a year. He felt a bit guilty but then remembered that they blocked his number, so even if he  _ did  _ try to contact them, it wouldn’t have worked. 

He took out his wallet and pulled out the photo of his mother that Minseok had given to him all those months ago, when Junmyeon had figured out who Minseok was, that he wasn’t a human like Xiumin that he had originally thought. 

His mother was really pretty, Junmyeon noticed. Her genes (did she even have genes? How does angel science work?) obviously skipped a generation, but he loved the fact that both Baekhyun and Minseok mentioned that he had her eyes, same color of hair. He had some part of her in him, and that brought him the most comfort.

A footstep brought his attention to reality. Unlike most of the people here, Junmyeon couldn’t sense other people’s presence, so it wasn’t until he heard someone walking that he realized someone was here.

He turned around to see Si Cheng, one of the youngerlings. He had bags under his eyes and looked tired. 

“Can I sit here?” Si Cheng asked, hesitating to take another step forward. “I just wanted to think.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem, I’m just… thinking, too, I guess,” Junmyeon reassured him, stuffing his mother’s photo back into his wallet. 

Si Cheng sat down a few feet away from Junmyeon, the two of them staring into the water in silence. No one spoke a word. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! i know none of you guys care for this story anymore so i'm basically doing this for my sis, this has slower updates than my other stories simply because i am suck ass at writing this story, the earlier chapters for SBA were cringy as hell, but yeah, i even have an outline! i dont know why i had writer's block, yes im still hearing yeah by usher rn


	5. Take a Hint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im actually getting more chapters published! im so proud of myself  
sorry theres a lot of angst going on, i'll try to add some more fluff soon

“Hello? Minseok?”

There was no answer. 

Luhan tried knocking on the door again, a little louder than this time, even though he knew Minseok had better hearing than most people and would have heard him. “Minseok? Can I talk to you for a second?”

Nothing. 

Luhan let his head fall on the door and sigh. Course Minseok still wouldn’t talk to him, he was a bitch towards him.

Sometimes he feels regret for ending his relationship with Minseok and felt confused. Who was he ending it for? For himself? For Minseok? For nothing? Despite his experience with love in the past, it was still confusing. 

It was a bit of a dick move, he admits. Minseok ran to save Luhan, and then heard Luhan speak shit about him. There’s no way of getting out of that. 

But it’s fine. Their relationship was in the past now. 

He still needed to talk to Minseok, tho. 

He tried knocking on the door again when he saw a youngerling at the end of the hallway, clutching some magazines on his hands. Then he got an idea. 

“Hey, Chen Le!” Luhan yelled, the other getting startled. “Can you come here for a second?”

Chen Le came closer to Luhan, frowning. “Why are you at Minseok’s door?”

Oh, right. None of the younger kids here liked him. 

“I have something very important to talk to him about, you wouldn’t understand,” Luhan said. 

Chen Le raised an eye but decided not to press the matter any forward. “Since I  _ clearly  _ don’t understand, I’m leavi-”

“No, wait, come back, child.” Luhan reached out and pulled back Chen Le’s arms, causing the latter to drop his magazines.

“No!!” Chen Le shrieked, letting himself fall on the floor as he started picking them up. He picked up one that had been an old copy, and a page slid out, falling on the floor. 

Luhan muttered an  _ oh shit  _ and bent down, offering to help, but Chen Le pushed him away, stacking the magazines up. 

“You guys hurt Minseok with the demon blood comments, but I’m pretty sure you’re closer to a demon than he is,” Chen Le muttered under his breath, carrying the magazines in his arms again. 

“Chen Le!” Luhan turned around to see Minseok heading their way. “What are you doing he- Luhan.”

Luhan tried to smile, nodding his head. “Hey.”

“Talk to him all you want,” Chen Le muttered, walking away. “Minseok! Jungwoo wants to play UNO with you later.”

Minseok smiled at Chen Le, patting him on the shoulder as he walked past. “Okay, I won’t forget.”

When he faced Luhan again, his face turned neutral. “What are you doing here?"

“To be honest, I just wanted to talk.”

Minseok frowned. “About what?”

Luhan shrugged. “Just some stuff, you know?”

Sighing, Minseok opened the door to his room and held it wide open. “Come in.”

He let Luhan step first, following him inside before closing the door. Minseok didn’t want to talk in the hallway where the fake bitches here could hear him. “Talk."

Luhan hesitated for a bit. “You need to stop isolating yourself-”

“Don’t start with that bullshit,” Minseok interrupted him. “From who? From you guys?” 

“You’re locked up in your room all day not doing anything,” Luhan admitted. 

“First of all, you don’t know about my life, Luhan, and you made it very clear that you wanted nothing to do with it,” Minseok said, balling his fists. “Let’s get this straight, Luhan, I’m not here for you guys, I’m here for Junmyeon, and I don’t care if you kick me out, because he’ll come with me, and that’s all I care about.”

“Come on, Minseok! I miss you, we all miss you!” Luhan shouted at his ex-lover. 

“Since when??” Minseok said, shutting him up. “I know Kris sent you here, Luhan, I’m not fucking stupid, and if you excuse me,” Minseok opened the door, leaving Luhan alone in the room. “I got more pressing matters to deal with than with you so-called adults.”   
  


  
***

  
  


“What’s taking them so long?” Jisung said, reshuffling the UNO deck for the who-knows-what time. “I could have napped by now.”

“Felix and Lucas are dumb asses and Si Cheng is taking your so-called nap,” Renjun said, not looking up from his phone. “Although, to be fair, no one’s following the punishment at this point.”

“Because the adults don’t care about us,” Jungwoo said, sighing. “They think they can save the world by sitting here all day and eating ramen.” 

“Imagine speaking so many languages and not travelling the world to use them.” Jisung set the deck on the table. “What’s taking Chen Le so long?”

“He went to get his magazines from Hyunjin who borrowed them,” Jungwoo reminded him for the third time. For an immortal being, Jisung had a bad memory. “Don’t ask again.”

“Aw, is someone in love with our Chen Le?” Renjun asked in a baby voice, teasing Jisung. “Does someone miss him?”

Jisung’s face turned red. “S-shut up,” he said, grabbing the deck and shuffling again. “You don’t know what you're talking about.”

“Oh, thank god, I was going to be scared if you were,” Renjun lied. “Jungwoo here is helping me ask him out.”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Jisung quickly stood up, cards spilling everywhere. “I wanted to ask him out!!"

“We got ‘em boys,” Renjun muttered, going back to his phone. “Thanks for the confession, Jisung.”

“Don’t lie about things like that!” Jisung sat back down on the floor, criss-crossed while pouting. “It hurts, you know, it’s already hard to know if he likes me back or not-”

“Oh, he likes you back all right,” Jungwoo muttered under his breath before his eyes went wide, realizing what he admitted. “WAIT-”

The door to the room slammed open, Chen Le walking in and setting his magazines on the floor. “I’m back!”

Renjun gave Jisung a smile before looking at Chen Le. “Oh, you missed a  _ lot _ , Chen Le, Jisung over here was talking about-”

“How I’m going to beat your ass in UNO, right?!” Jisung exclaimed, laughing as he scrambled to grab the cards that he spilled earlier, stacking them up again. “I’m going to beat your ass in UNO, Chen Le!”

Chen Le rolled his eyes. “I’m not letting you beat me.”

“Wait, where’s Minseok?” Jungwoo asked. “I thought he was going to play with us?”

Chen Le sighed. “Luhan wanted to talk to him.”

“Don’t you mean argue?” Renjun got up from where he was lying from the couch and took the deck from Jisung, who was frantically shuffling them over and over again. “I don’t like him.”

“Me neither, he always makes Minseok sad.” Chen Le sat down on the floor next to Jisung. “Minseok always cries about him.”

“At least Junmyeon is nice,” Jungwoo said, grabbing the cards that Renjun was handing him as he passed out the deck. “I like Junmyeon.”   
  
  


***

  
“You know what, Junmyeon?!” Baekhyun yelled across the room. “I don’t like you. At  _ all _ . I fucking hate your guts-”

“I’m still not giving you my twix,” Junmyeon said, taking another bite. “We said you would eat more healthy.”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU TAUNTING ME!” Baekhyun grabbed his pillow on the bed and put it over his mouth, yelling into it. 

“I’m sorry, one of the teens gave it to me and it’s about to expire!!” Junmyeon yelled back at his friend. When he saw how Baekhyun was still screaming his voice raw, Junmyeon sighed. “One bite.”

Baekhyun immediately threw the pillow across the room. “Yeah!!”

“But seriously, you need to start controlling your emotions more,” Junmyeon reminded him. “Like seriously. You can’t just be screaming. Being pregnant doesn’t give you a free pass.”

“Okay, boomer,” Baekhyun said, leaning over and opening his mouth, making an ‘ah’ sound. 

Junmyeon broke off a piece and popped it into Baekhyun’s mouth, the other chewing delightfully. “No. More. Unhealthy stuff.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, giving him thumbs up. After he swallowed, he said “Fine, I  _ promise,  _ but can we  _ please  _ get ice cream-”

“No.”

“But Junmyeon-”

“Look, how about this. When your child is born, you’re getting free ice cream for life.”

Baekhyun pouted. “Fine, but I’m not going to like it.”

“You’re not supposed to like it.” Junmyeon opened up his laptop to continue reading the article that he had searched up. “When is Chanyeol coming?” 

“Don’t know, he had something come up.” Baekhyun scooted over to where Junmyeon was sitting, resting his head on the latter’s shoulder. “Why are you reading-”

“Baekhyun, go away.” Junmyeon shut his laptop. “Take a nap or something.”

Baekhyun sighed. “Junmyeon, I know you were on Quora. What question were you asking. Could it be…” Baekhyun leaned forward to Junmyeon’s face, almost in kissing range. “Yifan?”

“I’m not asking questions about Yifan,” Junmyeon said, pushing his best friend away. “I’m not even asking questions. I’m reading other people's questions and them getting answers.”

“Okay, and the question is, what  _ questions _ are you looking about?” 

_ None of your business _ Junmyeon really wanted to say, but he held back his tongue. Baekhyun was his best friend, and no matter how much Junmyeon wanted to keep things private…

No. He couldn’t worry Baekhyun. Baekhyun already had a lot of stuff on his mind and was emotionally unstable at the moment, so it wouldn’t be fair for Junmyeon to unburden him with his worries. 

“Fine, it’s about Yifan,” Junmyeon lied, causing Baekhyun to raise an eye. 

“ _ Oh _ ? And what questions are you looking for?” Baekhyun teased him. 

Junmyeon pointed to the succulent that he had brought over earlier; he liked to carry it everywhere. “He bought me a gift and I don’t know what to give him back.”

“Just find him something he likes,” Baekhyun stated as a matter of fact.

“Yeah, but… he’s lived on this Earth for so long, he’s probably had every single gift in existence-”

“Nonsense, he hasn’t had a Junmyeon present.” Baekhyun dramatically threw his blanket off the bed and grabbed his backpack off the floor, looking for his notebook. “Don’t worry, Junmyeon, we’ll get to the bottom of this, he’s going to get the best goddamn gift that we can think of.”   
  


  
\---

30 minutes later, Baekhyun was sprawled over the bed asleep, mouth open with drool covering his pillow. No present for Yifan found yet, but at least Junmyeon was able to go back to his research. 

He typed “angel Gabrielle” on the computer, skipping all of the English articles as usual, going on wikipedia as usual. He must have read those pages dozens of times, the Angel and the Archangel and Seven Archangels and Gabriel, but without getting answers, he formed more questions instead. 

Why did his mother come to this Earth? Is it really possible for angels to fall in love with a human? How are angels even killed?

Apparently, there was a difference between Nephilim and demi-angels, which is what Junmyeon was considered. Nephilim were considered the children between humans and  _ fallen  _ angels, while demi-angels were of those angels who are not considered fallen. However, many people speculate that demi-angels don’t exist, since Angels aren’t supposed to procreate, and those who morph into a human body go against god and therefore are considered fallen. 

That made no sense. If his mother was an archangel, how did she have him? Was it through sex or through something else?  _ Did  _ she fall? Was there even a difference between a demi-angel and a nephilim.

Some people also state that angels can’t possibly fall. Others state that angels who fell weren’t considered fallen angels, they were just considered demons. Then there were the others saying Christianity was fake and they should all shut up. 

Junmyeon closed his laptop shut, groaning in frustration. He had contemplated buying a bible and reading through the whole thing just to see anything. Users gave verses that stated their point to be true, but then there was the whole translation issue from old Hebrew and whatnot. 

One thing for sure, he was  _ not  _ going to find anything on the internet. For one, they didn’t know that wolves and vampires and witches exist in the first place. Or even ghosts. Junmyeon and Yifan haven’t visited the Hansol ghost in a while. 

He was going to have to ask Minseok again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually did have that quora page open lol  
IM SO SORRY ABOUT THE XIUHAN TRUST ME THEY WILL HAVE THE BEST CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT EVER


	6. Let's All Act Possessed: Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUHO IS ENLISTING LIKE TODAY IN KOREA WHO'S HAVING A SOBFEST

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun pleaded, “I have the strongest desire to go outside.”

Chanyeol, who had just woken up from his nap, stared at Baekhyun, blinking rapidly for his eyes to get used to the light in the room. “Like backyard outside or outside outside?” Chanyeol groaned out. 

“Like, outside outside.” Baekhyun poked Chanyeol’s cheek repeatedly. “I miss going to the store.”

His boyfriend was fully awake now. “I can buy you stuff, you don’t have to go,” Chanyeol said, rubbing his eyes. 

Baekhyun pouted. “But I want to go out. I can’t stay here cooped up forever."

“I know, baby, I just want you to be safe,” Chanyeol muttered. He wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, pulling him into a hug. “I’m scared.”

“Chanyeol, it’s the  _ city  _ where there’s hundreds of people on the street, no one is going to try anything,” Baekhyun tried to reassure him. “Plus, don’t you guys always boast about how that wards here are safe?”

“Yeah, but we don’t know how that Zitao witch can get in,” Chanyeol said. “Plus, people can always try things on the street."

Baekhyun sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot.” He took the blanket off him and walked towards the door. 

“Wait, where are you going?” Chanyeol asked. 

Baekhyun shrugged. “I’m hungry, I’m going to eat something.”

“No, I can get you something.” Chanyeol got off the bed and ran towards the door. “You can stay here-”

“I don’t want to stay cooped up,” Baekhyun argued. “Chanyeol, really, I can get it myself.”

“No- Baekhyun-” Chanyeol stood between Baekhyun and the door. “You can rest, I’ll get you something.” He opened the door and scurried off.. 

“Chanyeol- Chanyeol! Aish...”   
  


  
***

Junmyeon had been reading a book when he felt his phone chime because of a notification. 

He set his book down and reached for his phone, two more notifications coming up. He swiped on the first one and it read-

_ Junmyeon help me I’m suffocating _

His eyes went wide as he opened his phone to reveal the rest of the messages from Baekhyun, only to roll his eyes. 

_ I am so bored I’m going to die _

_ Junmyeon help meeeeeeeeee _

He pressed the call button on Baekhyun’s profile, his friend picking up in the third ring. “Junmyeon thank goodness-”

“Can you stop giving me heart attacks?” Junmyeon scolded him. “You know I hate it when you play games like that.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Junmyeon had a feeling that Baekhyun was rolling his eyes. “You worry too much, everyone here worries too much.”

“Worrying is a part of life,” Junmyeon reminded him. “And why are you calling me, you are literally a room away.”

“Jokes on you, Junmyeon! I’m in Chanyeol’s room.” Junmyeon heard some shuffling in the background. “And I like talking to you on the phone. It makes it feel like you are away in Europe, dining in Venice-”

“Wait, where’s Venice again?”

“The point is, my dear friend Junmyeon,” Baekhyun continued. “Is that I love you.”

“Love you too, bud-”

“I’m not done.”

Sigh. “I’m not giving you ice cream.”

“BUT-”

“NO! Baekhyun, I stand by what I said.” Junmyeon got up from his bed and bent down to put on his sneakers. “I’m going to get something to eat, do you want to come?

“Nah, Chanyeol is bringing me something, no idea what though.” 

Junmyeon put his phone on speaker as he tied his shoelaces. “I think I’ll just make soup or something, I’ll ask Minseok if he wants to join.”

“I feel like Minseok’s been ignoring me,” Baekhyun confessed. Junmyeon could hear him unwrapping something. “I miss Minseok.”

“He’s going through tough times, Baek, we just have to remember to be there for him,” Junmyeon reminded him. “Show him support, let him know he’s not alone.”

“But he lets  _ you  _ be with him. It’s like he forgot me.”

“Then why don’t you talk to him about it?” Junmyeon suggested. “Tell him you feel left out.”

Junmyeon didn’t hear anything for a few seconds, and he could swore Baekhyun was chewing something. After hearing a swallow, he heard Baekhyun say, “nah, I won’t burden him. Last thing I want is for him to hate me.”

He had a strong suspicion of what Baekhyun was doing. Getting up from the bed, he opened the door of the room and headed down the hallway, speaking softly into the receiver after taking off speaker mode. “Don’t let it bottle it up, though.”

“No more worrying about me!!” Baekhyun yelled at the receiver. “Worrying about me is cancelled!”

“I get to worry about you all I want,” Junmyeon reminded him, immediately silencing his phone when he reached Chanyeol’s room.

He did not get to hear what Baekhyun said, but he didn’t need to, since he opened the door and was greeted with Baekhyun on the bed, tootsie roll wrappers scattered everywhere. 

His eyes widened. “BYUN BAEKHYUN!”

“I’m sorry! It’s the cravings!” Baekhyun grabbed his bag filled with candy and tried to hide it, but it was no use; Junmyeon saw it.

“Give that to me!” Junmyeon reached over and grabbed the bag from Baekhyun, throwing it on the ground before picking up the wrappers. “Baekhyun, it’s just for a few months, you can live without candy!” 

Baekhyun’s eyes started filling with tears. “It’s not fair.”

Junmyeon sighed, sitting down next to Baekhyun. “Look, I’m sorry, Baek-”

“Nevermind, just- just take it, don’t let Chanyeol know,” Baekhyun said, pushing Junmyeon away. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Hey, calm down, remember what we said about your bitchy attitude.” Junmyeon wrapped his arm around Baekhyun. “I know your stress, we’ll get through this. It’s okay to feel down-"

Chanyeol kicked the door open with his foot, coming inside with two plates in hand. “Baek I brought you- oh hey Junmyeon.”

“Time for me to leave.” Junmyeon got off the bed, standing next to Chanyeol by the door. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“‘Kay, love ya.”   
  


  
***

Junmyeon set the tray down on the floor so that he could knock on the door. “Xiu! Are you in there?”

He didn’t hear a response, but he heard some shuffling going on inside. 

“Minseok? Everything ok-”

Minseok opened the door, dressed in pajamas, even though it was four in the afternoon. “Oh, Junmyeon is everything okay?”

Junmyeon pushed down his urge to fix Minseok’s messy bed hair. “I bought you food,” he said, picking up the tray from the floor. “I thought it would be nice if we could eat together."

Minseok opened the door wider, rubbing his eyes as he headed back in his room. “Come in, come-” he interrupted himself with a yawn. “Thanks for breakfast.”

More like a very late lunch, but alright. “Minseok, do you know what time it is?”

“11 am?” Minseok yawned again, covering his mouth as he moved stacks of papers and folders on top of a pillow. “I slept at 5 am and I feel like shit right now.” He looked at the wall, where his clock showed the time to be 4:14 PM. “Fuck.”

“What could you  _ possibly  _ be doing at 5 am?” Junmyeon set the tray down in front of Minseok on the bed, closing the door before sitting down to eat with his friend. “Don’t tell me you’re getting addicted to Netflix.”

Minseok reached over to turn on the lamp on his nightstand. “I was researching some stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Minseok picked up a spoon. “This smells really good.”

“I made Thai curry soup again,” Junmyeon admitted, picking up a bowl and spoon as well. “I feel like it could have been more spicy though.” 

“Everything you do is delicious.” Minseok dipped his spoon into the other bowl, tasting the soup for a few seconds. “Like I said, delicious.”

“Maybe I’ll earn a Michelin star,” Junmyeon joked, taking a bite of a piece of chicken. “Could have used more salt, too-”

“Stop deprecating your cooking skills,” Minseok reminded him. “Let me remind you to  _ never  _ share your oreo balls with the teens, they’ll literally bounce off the walls with that much sugar.” He took another bite of the soup before adding, “And Baekhyun, he’ll do it too.”

Junmyeon shook his head. “He’s not allowed to eat dessert or junk food until he has his child.”

“Yeah, he’s going to break that rule in two days.” Minseok opened his nightstand drawer and took out two water bottles, handing one to Junmyeon. “I thought you said this wasn’t spicy.”

“It’s not!” Junmyeon argued, taking the water bottle anyways. “And Baekhyun  _ did  _ break the rule. He had the nerve to eat tootsie rolls while talking to me on the phone.”

“I want to question why you guys were on the phone but knowing Baekhyun, I don’t want to know the answer.” Minseok grinned, staring at the spoon in his hand. “He would have loved Tumblr during its golden ages.”

“Oh god, I always hated Tumblr. Everyone acts entitled.”

“Hey, you could find some hidden gems on there.” Minseok tried to pick up some noodles with his spoon but was struggling. “I miss my Myspace account.” 

“I’m perfectly good with Kakao.” Junmyeon set down his spoon and opened his water bottle. The soup  _ was  _ spicy, he was just having a late reaction to tasting it. “Although WeChat and Weibo are pretty cool to use, too-”

“Yifan strikes again.”

“It has  _ nothing  _ to do with Yifan,” Junmyeon lied. 

“Fine, tell me three people you follow on WeChat.”

“Yifan, uh…. Damn it, you got me,” Junmyeon laughed. “But it’s been helping me learn Chinese.”

“A classic language indeed. Wasn’t Baekhyun learning English?”

“His desire has not gone away, sadly.” Junmyeon shrugged. “He just tries for five minutes before cursing at this green owl and logging off.”

“Sounds dangerous-” Minseok stopped midway, dropping his spoon into the bowl and scrambling to get off of bed, knocking over his bowl in the process, spilling soup everywhere.

“MInseok, is everything ok?” Junmyeon got off the bed and stood next to Minseok, who was looking out the window, right when two unfamiliar vampires were choking Baekhyun and one of the youngerlings. 

  
  


***

While eating their lunch earlier, Baekhyun reached a compromise with Chanyeol. 

Baekhyun could go outside, but  _ never  _ alone. It’s not that Baekhyun couldn’t defend himself- yeah, no, he literally couldn’t. He’s been into trouble so many times, Chanyeol was not going to give the benefit of the doubt. 

Besides, even if Baekhyun was the strongest person over the one hundred plus people who lived here, Chanyeol wasn’t going to let Baekhyun be alone. Look at Jonghyun and Kibum for example; Kibum could easily kill Jonghyun in two seconds, yet Jonghyun refused to acknowledge this while worrying for his mate constantly. 

Perks of being imprinted, he supposed?

Whatever, Chanyeol wasn’t going to let Baekhyun be alone, not with the threat of Song’s group and Zitao lingering. He swore up and down that he wasn’t possessive, he was just scared. 

Baekhyun was still not going to have any sweets though. 

So Baekhyun and Chanyeol got ready, ready to head outside to the city. Baekhyun put on a cute shirt that Junmyeon gifted him a while ago that he hasn't gotten to wear, since all he did was stay indoors with his sweatpants eating potato chips and air, most of the air  _ coming  _ from the potato chip bags. 

But yes, he got ready, and he planned on buying so much shit from the stores that his arms would lose circulation. You know how much anime merch he hasn’t been able to get?? Disgusting. 

They left the room and went downstairs, heading out the stronghold when Chanyeol slapped his own forehead. “I forgot to get something.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, laughing. Trust Chanyeol to be forgetful. “You can get it, I’ll wait out here, it’s fine.”

Chanyeol kissed Baekhyun’s forehead before rushing back inside, Baekhyun laughing at his boyfriend the entire time. 

Baekhyun sat down on one of the chairs outside, where the space was sort of like a little patio. Nearby, there was a young boy looking through the grass, mumbling about four leaf clovers. 

He took out his phone and sent a quick message for Junmyeon, asking him if he wanted anything, when the kid started shouting at him. “Hey! Do you know them?”

Baekhyun strained his eyes to see what the teen was pointing at near the woods, but he couldn’t see anything. “Uh, I don’t have that good eyesight like you guys.”

The teen came closer to Baekhyun, still pointing at whatever it was in the distance. “Those two men.”

Baekhyun shook his head. “Nope, I don’t have good eyes, kid, I stay up watching anime at 3 am without Junmyeon knowing- wait, what’s your name, again?”

“Donghyuck,” the teen responded. He stared at the four leaf clovers he had collected. “It’s weird, I can’t sense them.”

Wait, wasn’t that a bad thing? “Uh, do you think we should go inside or-”

_ That’s  _ when he saw the men running towards them. However, Baekhyun and Donghyuck froze, almost as if they couldn’t move. And when the men attacked them, that’s when they both knew they were goners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO SPOILERS


	7. Can I Please Get a Waffle?

Minseok had once asked Kibum as a favor if he could put a spell on Junmyeon and Baekhyun so that he could be able to sense when they were in danger. 

So imagine Minseok’s distress when, knowing Baekhyun was outside, could feel him in pain.

He got out of the bed and went straight to the window, praying that it was just Baekhyun getting hurt by falling or playing a rough game or something, but no, it was Baekhyun getting strangled by two men Minseok couldn’t sense.

Without thinking, Minseok took a few steps back, surprisingly Junmyeon, who was watching the whole thing, fear in his eyes.

“Minseok we got to go help them- Wait, what are you  _ doing _ ?” Junmyeon asked.

Minseok didn’t answer as he lunged straight towards the window, shattering the glass everywhere as he jumped.

  
  


***

  
  


Chanyeol had accidentally forgotten his wallet so he ran back inside to get it. Knowing Baekhyun, he would have said it was no worries, but Chanyeol didn’t want him to pay a single cent, so he dashed back inside to get it, expecting Baekhyun to be waiting for him.

What he did  _ not  _ expect was to see his mate and a teen get strangled by two unknown men. 

He sprinted himself towards Baekhyun and lunged himself at the man, ripping him apart from his love. The man tried to grab Chanyeol’s arms and twist them behind his back, but Chanyeol was able to hold onto the guy's head and move it 360 degrees, killing him instantly. 

Before he could help the youngerling, though, Minseok crashed down onto the ground, landing on both feet. Chanyeol had  _ no  _ idea where Minseok came from but he must have jumped from a window and luckily did not get injured as he killed the other man as well, anger and hatred in his eyes. 

  
  


***

  
  


“I’m never going to be able to go outside again,” Baekhyun said, holding an ice pack to his neck while on Chanyeol’s lap, a distraught Junmyeon next to him. “I think the universe is out to get me.”

Junmyeon, who was holding Baekhyun’s hand, gave it a squeeze. “I’m just glad you’re okay, I was really worried.”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine.” Baekhyun shrugged. “I can never enjoy myself anymore.”

Junmyeon wanted to say more but held his tongue; Baekhyun was clearly in distress. He just needed time to clear his head.

Instead, he tried to listen into the conversation that the others were having in the room. This was starting to feel like a habit. 

“They have to be fucking  _ somewhere _ !!” Yifan screamed at Luhan’s face, the two facing each other while the others were trying not to get involved in the dispute of the two. 

“Okay, Kris, excuse me for not having fucking magical powers!!” Luhan screamed right back at him. “I can’t fucking do anything, they came out of nowhere!!”

Minseok, who was sitting at the corner, hugging a crying Haechan in his lap, interrupted the two. “Did you guys not have a lead a few days ago? What happened to that?”

“Maybe if you were caught up in events, Minseok, you would know that didn’t work out,” Yifan pointed out at him. 

Junmyeon stood up, frowning. “Yifan, don’t talk to him like that.”

“Junmyeon, not now, please stay out of this.”

“Ex- _ excuse me _ ?”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I just want them dead,” Chanyeol said, hugging Baekhyun closer to his chest. “Song’s group. Zitao. I want them all fucking dead-”

“Okay, can we  _ not  _ bring Zitao into this?” Sehun yelled over them. “Not now. Stop dragging him into this.”

“Oh god, not  _ this  _ argument again,” Jonghyun muttered under his breath.

“Jonghyun, I don’t want to hear about you ramble about Kibum again,” Sehun said, holding his hand up. “Please don’t start-”

“I’m not the one starting, you’re the one bringing up this argument,” Jonghyun yelled at him. “So fucking tiring, Sehun, get a hobby, please, at least I don’t mope around for twenty years.”

“At least  _ I  _ don’t do nothing for twenty years eating ramen cups everyday!!” Sehun shouted. 

Junmyeon grabbed Baekhyun’s hand, lifting him up from Chanyeol’s lap. “Baekhyun, let’s go before they start something,” he whispered, even though he knew that they all had perfect hearing in this goddamn household. 

Chanyeol didn’t budge from his grasp of Baekhyun. “I’m not letting him go-”

“Not now, Chanyeol, Baekhyun is feeling down, don’t let him be in this room full of negativity,” Junmyeon tried to plead with him while the others continued to argue in the background. 

“Let’s just go, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said, sighing. “The day is already ruined, anyways.”   
  


***

  
  


Renjun came back into the room, arms crossed across his chest while pouting. “I couldn’t get a waffle.”

“But you promised!!” Chen Le shouted at him. “You said you were getting some!”   
  


Lucas jumped up from the couch. “I’ll get waffles-”

“What I was  _ going  _ to say is that the kitchen is blocked,” Renjun explained, sitting down on a nearby chair. “And they’re arguing again in the main room.” 

“Wait, what?” Felix, who was lying face-down on the floor, lifted up his head. “Now what happened?”

“I don’t know, but heard them say something about the human and Haechan.” Renjun cracked his neck and his fingers. “So no waffles.”

Felix sighed and laid back down on the floor. “What’s the point of being immortal if you can’t have waffles,” he muttered.

“If I aged like normal, I would have a mortgage by now!” Chen Le exclaimed. “Technically I’m 58.”

“You don’t look a day over 17,” Lucas said, waving him off.

Chen Le squinted at him. “That’s when I was turned.”

The door room opened again, revealing Jungwoo in the doorway, arms crossed his chest. “They’re fighting again-"

“Yep, I was there too.” Renjun grabbed his phone off the small coffee table made of glass and scrolled through it. “Something stupid, I’m sure.”

Jungwoo sat down next to Lucas, sighing. “Poor Donghyuck. I think he got hurt. I know he was outside to find some clovers since Jaehyun asked him so nicely.” 

“Jaehyun doesn’t even know how to turn on a toaster,” Renjun argued, earning a stare from Lucas. “What?”

“I don’t know how toasters work,” Lucas explained, now visibly upset. “It’s so hard to use.”

Renjun stared at Lucas for a solid ten seconds before glaring at Jungwoo. “You’re  _ seriously  _ seeing this guy?”

“What’s wrong with not knowing how to use a toaster?” Jungwoo asked innocently.

Felix rolled over so that he could now see Jungwoo. “HELLO? Toasted bread with vegemite is the best thing ever since sliced bread!!!” 

“Ew, carbs,” Renjun said, making a face. 

“EXCUSE ME-”   
  


  
***

Kibum patted Baekhyun’s head. “You’re fine, don’t worry about anything. Luckily those bastards didn’t do anything to you.”

They were in Baekhyun’s room, thankfully escaping the chaos that was forming downstairs. What mattered was that Baekhyun was okay, after all. Junmyeon didn’t care how they dealt with the situation, anyways.

Minseok had also left after getting bashed, so he took the teen with him and said he was going to hang out with the youngerlings. Junmyeon had no idea what was going on after that. 

The witch came along, after Chanyeol pleaded with him for a thousand times to check up on Baekhyun. Like he said, nothing was wrong with Baekhyun, luckily, but it was still a traumatic experience for the latter. 

“There’s nothing wrong with our child, right?” Chanyeol asked Kibum, clutching on the witch’s arm tightly. If Kibum were a human, it would probably have been flatten by now. “Right?”

“Nothing that I can sense,” Kibum said. “He’s only 2 and a half months along, anyways. You’ve been drinking the liquid that I gave you?”

Baekhyun nodded his head. “Yeah, but it tastes nasty, can’t you change the flavor-”

“Baek, you can’t seriously be asking that,” Junmyeon muttered under his breath. You can always count on Baekhyun to worry about the insignificant things. 

“Uh… I’ll try to change it for the future one,” Kibum said. “But yeah, just… try to eat healthy and whatnot. I don’t know, I’m not a doctor.”

“Thank god you’re not, otherwise you would charge me one thousand dollars right now,” Baekhyun said. “They get away with anything-”

“He’s just starting his US healthcare rant again,” Junmyeon told Kibum. “He’s fine.”

Kibum glanced between Baekhyun and Junmyeon to Chanyeol who was still grasping his hand. “Well, I’m going to go, I think they’re calling me, so, uh, Junmyeon, can I talk outside with you for a few minutes, it’s personal.”

Junmyeon nodded, getting off the bed while Chanyeol took that as an opportunity to dive in, wrapping his arms tightly around Baekhyun’s waist. “I’m so glad that you're okay-”

“Yeah, I’m going to leave them alone,” Junmyeon told Kibum, looking back and Chanyeol and Baekhyun who were now in their own world. “I have something to do anyways."

The two left the room, leaving a coddling Chanyeol and a distraught Baekhyun behind. 

Kibum closed the door, leaving the two alone in the hallway, before speaking up. “You don’t know what’s going on with your friend, right?”

Junmyeon glanced at the closed door. “Why, what’s wrong with Baekhyun?”

“Not him,” Kibum stated. “The other one.”

Junmyeon’s eyes widened. “Wait, do you… do you mean Minseok?”

“Precisely.” Kibum looked down at the ground, shifting the weight on his feet before looking at Junmyeon again. He had no idea how he was going to break the news to the demi-angel. “What  _ exactly  _ do you know of him, I don’t want to reveal something private of his.”

“Well… like of his past, or of what he is, or, I’m sorry, I’m confused, what are you talking about?” Junmyeon asked. “Nothing’s wrong with him, right?”

“Okay, to put it this way, what  _ is  _ Minseok, to your knowledge?”

“A werewolf,” Junmyeon answered. “But with… demon blood or something, I don’t know what the group means by that.”

“So demon blood is a bit tricky to explain. See, the reason why they are werewolves and vampires is not because of a disease or something demonic like in folklore, but because of certain magic elements in their blood,” Kibum explained. “Actually, modern folklore was just a bunch of paranormals deciding to fuck around with humans, to be honest.”

Junmyeon didn’t know what normal people thought of werewolves and vampires, that was Baekhyun’s alley. He’s read a variety of genres known to man, including that one book banned by the South Korean government. That was the first and last time Baekhyun got onto the dark web, his curiosity shattered. “That makes sense,” Junmyeon said. 

Kibum squinted his eyes. “You know I can read your mind, right?”

Junmyeon also forgot  _ that  _ little detail. “Sorry, I don’t really read fantasy.”

“Point taken, but yes, so their blood has a series of magical elements in it, unlike demon blood, which is it’s own entity,” Kibum continued. “Now, Minseok had demon blood infused with it, and since it’s stronger than human blood, eventually, there is a bigger quantity of it before taking over your body completely.”

“Wait, so, are you saying Minseok is going to eventually become…” Junmyeon trailed off. “No, he wouldn’t do that.”

“It’s not a question of willpower,” Kibum said. “It’s going to happen. Pure angel blood is the only thing that can cleanse it, since it overpowers anything.”

“Will my blood work?” Junmyeon asked. He didn’t know what his blood did, being demi-angel after all, nor did he know what capabilities he could sustain. “It has angel blood, after all, right?”

“But it’s mixed with human blood,” Kibum explained. “Being born mixed is different from infusing, which is why you won’t ever become fully angel."

“So other than this angel blood, there’s no way to stop it,” Junmyeon concluded. 

Kibum shrugged. “There’s really nothing else.”   
  


***   
  


“Look at this,” Donghyuck showed Minseok a meme on his phone. “I feel like this would be Johnny.”

Minseok smiled, running his fingers through Donghyuck’s hair. “You guys all need to get along, you know.”

“No, he stole my waffles, I have no sympathy for him.” Donghyuck scrolled down his phone until he found another meme. “Look, this is Jisung.”

“Which Jisung?” 

“Han, duh, you think Park is able to talk back to someone?” 

Donghyuck continued looking at other memes, excitedly explaining each one to Minseok, as the latter continued to play with his hair, Donghyuck cuddled on his lap. They were in Minseok’s room, since Donghyuck had been in a bad mood, and Minseok wanted to cheer him up. 

He took Donghyuck with him to leave the brawl going on in the main room. He had stopped trying to get along with all of them, knowing he didn’t have much time left anyways. They already knew what was going to happen to him and nothing was to be done, so they just… gave up on him. 

Which Minseok did too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things about to get real angsty real quick


	8. I was there first

Minghao knocked on Minseok’s door again. “MINSEOK OPEN UP-”

“Can you  _ not  _ yell at him,” Junhui scolded him, pushing Minghao’s arm away. “Being aggressive on him doesn’t work."

About a week has passed since the incident where people infiltrated the stronghold again, and Minseok had yet to attend another meeting. As he had said over and over again, Minseok does not care about anyone there anymore, just the youngerlings and the two humans. Anyone else, he had cut off contact with. 

Junhui used to get along with Minseok well, but unfortunately, Luhan had broken it off with Minseok, and since Luhan was Junhui’s friend, that meant he couldn’t talk to Minseok anymore out of loyalty. 

Minghao, though, didn’t give a fuck about anything. “MINSEOK!! CAN YOU COME DOWNSTAIRS WITH US-”

“Literally  _ what  _ did I just tell you-”

The door opened, revealing a half-asleep Minseok rubbing his eyes. “What are you guys doing up so early?” he mumbled, yawning. 

He still had on pajamas and bedhead. “Did you just wake up?” Junhui asked him. “It’s four pm-”

“Yes, I know my sleep schedule is wack, thank you for pointing it out,” Minseok said. “What’s going on?”

“Meeting,” was all Minghao said, grabbing Minseok’s wrist. “It’s a new strategy-”

Minseok shook off Minghao’s arm. “Have fun,” he said, hand on the door ready to close it until Junhui stuck out his foot.

“You need to be present,” Junhui added. “Jongdae and Kris said so.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care-”

“Minseok, please do this as a favor,” Minghao pleaded with him. “Everything is just getting so hostile, Junhui and I are worried-”

“And you think  _ I  _ can calm them down?” Minseok asked, scoffing. “Have you not been present every time they fucking talk to me?”

“You’re the only one capable of beating their ass,” Junhui reminded him. 

Minseok raised an eye. “Is that supposed to be a compelling argument?”

“Can you just  _ tag along already _ ?!” Minghao screamed, grabbing Minseok’s arm and pulling him out of his room. “You’re good at popping off at them and they need a lesson.”   
  
***

“Clearly, y’all haven’t been taught a SINGLE lesson in your entire lives,” Yifan yelled at everyone present. There were only fifteen of them there, since having everyone a chance to decide would ultimately lead to chaos. 

Not that it matters anyways because there’s already chaos going on. 

“Pfft, you’re the one who’s been schooled for, what, half a century already?” Luhan taunted him. “Shut the fuck up, Kris.”

“Can you guys SHUT UP!!!” Yixing interrupted them. “You guys need to stop acting like you’re in the right, you’re so close minded.”

“I think kids these days would call you guys a…” Junhui snapped his fingers, trying to remember. “Oh, yeah, a boomer.”

Jihoon sighed. “Can you guys hurry up and tell us what the plan is?”

“I would if  _ someone  _ stopped asking me questions every five seconds about what we are doing!!” Jongdae yelled. “Can I continue now, or are you guys going to continue fighting for dominance or some shit, do that in the bedroom if you want-”

Yoongi yawned and got up from his seat. “Well, I’m going to bed if you guys are going to act like this-”

“No, you sit down, idiot, and Luhan, Kris, stop arguing with each other, we’re trying to save our lives here!” Jongdae yelled at them. He turned to look at Minseok who had been sitting quietly during the entire meeting. “Do you want to input some advice?”

Minseok shrugged. “I think everything is bad, anyways-”

“OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, SHUT UP AND LET’S ALL THINK OF SOMETHING!!” Sehun yelled at everyone. “How hard is that!?!?”

Jonghyun rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t be if you tried to stop everything going on.”

Sehun glared at Jonghyun. “Now what the fuck are you trying to bring into the conversation?"

“Oh, god, not the Zitao argument again,” Junhui muttered, clutching one of the sofa pillows and covering his face with it. “Minseok, do something.”

Minseok’s eyes darted between Sehun and Jonghyun, not knowing how to jump into the conversation. “Guys, we have more important things to worry about then some person popping up every now and then-”

“Just fucking reduce his name, I guess,” Sehun said, throwing his hands up in the air. 

Minseok clenched his fists. “You out of all people have no right to say that to me.”

“Say what, pointing something out?” Sehun asked him. 

Minghao leaned closer to Junhui. “I told you it wasn’t going to work, dumb ass,” he muttered in Mandarin, despite half of the people in the room speaking it.

“Sehun, you need to learn how to shut the fuck up,” Minseok told him. “Stop acting like you’re the only one in the room who cares about him when you didn’t even in the first place-”

“ _ I  _ think we should postpone this meeting,” Yixing interrupted quickly, standing in the middle of the room. “Clearly we are all tired-”

“Tell me when have you ever cared for him?” Sehun asked Minseok. “Never. Everyone here is plotting to kill him and what do you do? Sit in your room like some depressed thot just because Luhan over here doesn’t want to hang around with your miserable ass-”

“That’s not really necessary-” Luhan tried to tell the two, but was promptly ignored. 

Minseok took out a knife from his pocket. “Okay, first of all, Sehun, I’m pretty sure you remember because everyone here  _ loves  _ to act like I’m a fucking disease that’s contagious but just to refresh your memory-” Minseok dragged the blade over his arm and sliced it open in one go, the dark, tainted blood gushing out instantly. “I am  _ going to fucking turn into a demon _ , I have other things to worry about then you guys arguing about whose turn is it to do what-”

“Don’t do that, Minseok!” Yixing took off his jacket and wrapped it around Minseok’s arm, trying to recite some spells under his breath to close the wound. “You know it’s hard to work on your injuries.”

Minseok ignored Yixing working on his arm, glare still set on Sehun. “Name me one productive thing you’ve done,” Minseok said. “Just one. Name me one thing.”

“I can actually  _ work  _ with others instead of sitting alone in my room,” Sehun said. 

Minseok laughed. “Oh, really? Like working with your friends who killed my mother?”

Everyone’s eyes in the room went wide. 

“Okay, I’m sorry, when the FUCK did this happen?!” Yifan yelled at the two of them. 

Sehun balled his fists in anger. “When did I ever do that?!” he yelled. 

Minseok dropped the bloodied knife on the floor. “I was the werewolf in the village two decades over,” he said quietly. “Your organization found out, and then you and your friends promptly extinguished the village afterwards.”

Sehun’s face fell. “How did you know about that?”

“You think I felt comfortable tagging along with Zitao?” Minseok said, his voice shaking. “After everything he did for me, now I was going to be a big burden to him? Why I didn’t fucking talk to anyone in the beginning? You think I was going to be all nice to you people when I was mourning my mother?”

Everyone in the room stayed silent, not wanting to say a word. 

No one knew much about Minseok’s backstory.  _ No one _ . He never told Luhan and he hasn’t even told Junmyeon. Heck, they knew more about Zitao when they knew him all those years ago. 

“I’m sorry,” Sehun said finally. “I didn’t know- Minseok, I swear-”

“Fuck off, Sehun.” Minseok took a few steps backwards, wiping his face with the collar of his shirt. “Zitao was my second friend after my mom, and you took both of them away from me."

And with that, Minseok ran out the room, ignoring everyone’s shouts after him. 

  
  


***

“Minseok.” Luhan knocked on the latter’s door quietly. He knew Minseok had run off to his room. “Minseok, can I please come in?”

No answer. 

“Please, just let me talk to you,” Luhan pleaded. “I know we have a lot of stuff between us but I’ll forget about it for now, just let me talk, please.”

Yet again, no answer.

“He’s not going to answer,” Junhui said. He and Minghao have followed Luhan to Minseok’s room. “It took a lot to persuade him to even come to the meeting and you guys just fucking ruined it.”

“Just let him be,” Minghao told Luhan, trying to pull him away from the door. “He’s upset, he’s going to cry for a bit-”

“But he has to calm down,” Luhan explained, knocking on the door again. “Minseok could be in danger if he gets too emotional.”

Junhui stared at him, confused. “Why can’t he get too emotional?” he asked. 

“It’s a lot to explain, MINSEOK!!” Luhan knocked on the door again, sighing when he heard nothing. “I’m really tempted to knock down this door.”

“I mean, technically you can,” Minghao said. “But I wouldn’t advise it, he’ll jump out a window or something.”

“Literally how the fuck did he jumped out the window the other day?” Junhui muttered under his breath. “He gets like extreme adrenaline when it involves those two humans.”

“He’d do anything for Baekhyun and Junmyeon,” Luhan said, backing away from the door. However, a few seconds later, his eyes went wide with realization. “That’s it!”

Luhan ran down the hallway, ignoring the shouts that Junhui and Minghao were giving him. 

“Now what’s up with him?” Minghao muttered. 

Junhui sat down against the wall, groaning in frustration. “You know, my love, at this point I gave up in trying to know. Ignorance is bliss, I tell you.”

“You just say that when you get told you’re an idiot,” Minghao reminded him, only to then point at Luhan in the distance. “Did he really just drag the half angel with him?!”

Luhan was, indeed, dragging Junmyeon with him, the latter confused as to what’s going on.

They reached Minghao and Junhui, where Luhan still hasn’t answered any of Junmyeon’s questions. “Can you tell me what precisely do you want me to do?” He asked the Chinese.

“Minseok is feeling shitty right now and we need you to make him feel better,” Luhan explained, knocking on Minseok’s door again. 

Junmyeon glared at him. “What did you do to him?” he asked, his voice rising with anger. 

“Yo, uh, Junmyeon was it?” Minghao said, tapping on his shoulder knowing perfectly well that it was Junmyeon. “Yeah, Luhan had nothing to do with the incident, it was Sehun.”

“Basically Sehun killed Minseok’s mom,” Junhui rushed, pounding on Minseok’s door. “MINSEOK, JUNMYEON HERE WANTS TO SEE YOU-”

“Wait, he did  _ what _ ?!” Junmyeon shouted. 

Minghao grabbed Junmyeon’s wrist and pulled him to the door. “Just talk to him, please,” Minghao pleaded, grabbing Junhui’s arm next. “Look, we’ll even go and leave you two alone, just cheer him up or something, I don’t know.”

“Don’t grab my arm too hard,” Junhui muttered, being ignored by Minghao who dragged him away, leaving Luhan and Junmyeon outside Minseok’s room. 

Junmyeon hesitated, knocking Minseok’s door softly. “Minseok, can I come in?” Junmyeon asked. 

They heard the door getting unlocked. 

He opened the door slowly, where he could Minseok, tears in his eyes. “I miss her,” Minseok whispered, wiping his face with his arm. “I miss her.”

Junmyeon’s eyes widened when he saw Minseok’s arm covered in blood. “Minseok, your arm!” Junmyeon shouted, pushing himself inside and pulling Minseok with him to the bathroom. “What did you do?!”

“It’s not important-”

“Yes it is, you can’t hurt yourself!” Junmyeon turned on the faucet and held Minseok’s arm under it, rubbing the bar of soap over it. He turned around to see Luhan standing a few feet away from Minseok, not wanting to interrupt anything. “What happened?” he asked him.

“It’s a lot-” Luhan started to explain, only for Minseok to burst into tears.

Junmyeon rapidly wrapped a towel around Minseok’s arm, pressing it tightly. “Minseok, you can tell me,” he said, wrapping his free arm around Minseok’s neck and pulling him into a hug. “I’m sorry.”

“I told you, I’m losing everything in my life,” Minseok cried out, resting his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder. “It’s not fair.”

Junmyeon held him there for a bit, letting his friend cry it all out. He still had no idea what happened but all that mattered was that his friend was okay and didn’t bleed himself out to death. 

He kept thinking that over and over again, just wanting Minseok to feel better, when Minseok pulled away, wiping a tear away. “I think I’m better, sorry,” he muttered. 

“Minseok, it’s fine, you shouldn’t let your emotions bottle up-”

“No, I’m okay, don’t worry,” Minseok tried to persuade him. 

Junmyeon pressed two fingers on Minseok’s neck, feeling his heartbeat. “Weird, your pulse should be higher,” he muttered. “I don’t know how you can calm down that fast, but okay, let’s focus on your arm,” he said, unwrapping the towel on Minseok’s arm only to drop it on the floor moments later. 

Minseok’s wound was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS NOT MY BEST WORK BUT I WILL FINISH THIS SERIES  
Also baekhyun's comeback SLAPS


	9. Fuck Research Papers

“I’m going to assume werewolves don’t heal that fast?” Junmyeon asked, watching Minseok prod his healed skin. “Uh, Xiu?”

“How?” Minseok murmured, alternating between staring at the bloodied rag and his healed arm until realization hit. “You,” he said, looking at Junmyeon. “You did it.”

Junmyeon frowned. “Do what?"

Minseok looked at Luhan, who was watching them from the doorway. He, too, had been surprised. “Tell me you can sense it,” he said, lifting up his arm. “Tell me you can.”

Luhan opened his mouth but couldn’t think of the right words to say. “I thought he didn’t know how to use his…”

“Use my what?” Junmyeon asked. “Like angel powers or something?”

Luhan and Minseok looked at each other silently. Normally Junmyeon would appreciate them maintaining eye contact without fighting or crying, but considering the circumstances, he had no time to think about that now. “There’s angelic energy radiating off his arm, meaning an angel’s power was used,” Luhan explained. “Well, demi-angel, anyways-”

Minseok got up and grabbed Junmyeon’s arm. “We have to figure out what’s going on,” he said. “And guys? We need to keep this a secret.”   
  


  
***

  
  


“This is supposed to be a secret,” Junmyeon was telling Baekhyun. “But you get secondary rights since you’re my best friend.”

Baekhyun smirked, fixing his legs so that he could be sitting criss crossed. “Damn right I do, as your number one best friend, I deserve everything including naming rights to your first child.”

“I’m gay, Baekhyun, I can’t have a child,” Junmyeon reminded him. “Adopt, sure, but not naturally.”   
  


“Excuse me, do you not see what condition I’m in??” Baekhyun grabbed the pillow behind him and wacked it on Junmyeon’s head. “I’m the exception, bitch.”

“That’s magic and it’s different,” Junmyeon said. “Do you want to hear the secret or not?”

Baekhyun huddled the pillow close to him. “I’m all ears.”

Junmyeon took a deep breath, trying to think of how to explain it to Baekhyun without him practically exploding and bombarding him with a rate of 1000 questions per minute. “I think… okay, you remember how I’m not exactly… human, right?”

Baekhyun nodded. “Mom’s an angel, I remember.”

“Yeah, so…” Junmyeon paused. “”How do I explain this, uh….” he cleared his throat. “So Minseok had a wound on his arm, right?”

“Oh, I know where this is going.” Baekhyun laid down on the bed, arms stretching. “Healing powers.”

Junmyeon’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?”

“I pieced it all together when everyone discovered you were half angel,” Baekhyun explained. “You really didn’t know?”

“Baek, when have I  _ ever  _ done something that technically isn’t humanly possible??” Junmyeon asked, confused. “I’m pretty sure I would know.”

“Don’t you remember how you were always good at taking care of my injuries?” Baekhyun reminded him. “My cuts and bruises always went away faster when you tended them, and you ‘faint scar’ remedies always made me have no scarring. Granting, some won’t consider it  _ healing  _ per say, but it’s not like you know you had angel in you.” He sat up again; Baekhyun was always moving whenever they talked, that’s how restless he always was. “What happened with Minseok, though, I’m curious.”

“Minseok’s case was completely different to yours, though,” Junmyeon argued. “Like he had a deep knife wound and I made it all disappear in seconds by complete  _ accident. _ That’s totally different than what has always happened with you."

Baekhyun shrugged. “Character development? Maybe we should search this up- hey, where’s your computer- oh, fuck, I lost it-”

They heard a knock on the door, startling them. 

“Oh, fuck! Who is that?” Baekhyun shrieked, trying to roll around the bed only to unfortunately land on the floor with a loud thump. “Ow.”

“Baekhyun!” Junmyeon got off the bed and rushed to his friend’s side, while Baekhyun was just rubbing his sore forehead. “You need to be more careful.”

“Careful? Never heard of her,” Baekhyun muttered, hugging the pillow that he had managed to hold onto the entire time closer to his chest. “I’m just going to lay here and die.”

Junmyeon rolled his eyes at him before tugging onto Baekhyun’s arm. “Come on and get up, I have to leave soon, Minseok said he wanted to show me something.”

They heard the knock on the door again, but thankfully since Baekhyun was on the floor he couldn’t fall off again from the frightment. 

“Who is it?” Baekhyun said, confused. “Is it Minseok? Maybe you should hurry up,” he said, pushing his friend away. “I can die later, don’t worry.”

“I don’t think it’s Minseok- Baekhyun, stop being so dramatic.” Junmyeon slapped his friend’s arm, getting up to open the door as Baekhyun was whining behind him.

He opened it and was surprised to see Yifan standing there. “Hey,” he said, fidgety. “Is everything okay, we haven’t talked for a few days and, I don’t know, I just- yeah.” 

Junmyeon kept shifting the weight on his feet, alternating before hiding his hands behind his back or stuffing them in his pocket. “You said it had nothing to do with us,” he said quietly. “And it’s not like we ever wanted to get involved anyways.”

“I know, it’s- look, uh, are you free right now?” Yifan asked him.

Junmyeon shook his head. “I have to do something with Minseok right now, actually, so…”

“Oh. Okay, cool, well…” Yifan stepped back, nodding. “Okay, well, I’ll see you later then,” he said, walking away. 

Junmyeon stood there, watching Yifan walk away, wondering why their relationship was making such a weird turn. 

  
  


***

“Where are we?” Junmyeon asked Minseok, who had led him to one of the libraries in the stronghold. “This place looks really impressive.”

“Puts Baekhyun’s manga collection to shame, I know.” Minseok opened one of the big books on the table and started flipping through the pages. “Let me look through the catalog first, unlike everyone here, I haven’t even been alive for a full century and haven’t had time to memorize everything here.”

Junmyeon sat down on the closest chair, watching Minseok go through the book. “This feels like a library you would have at the white house,” he said, looking around. “It’s really grand.”

The library in question was gigantic, in Junmyeon’s opinion, like those you would see in mansions and in palaces. There were bookshelves everywhere, some reaching stories high, with ladders strewn over the place. The lighting was a bit dim, almost as if it were night, and that’s when Junmyeon realized there were no windows. 

“Hey, why aren’t there windows in here?” Junmyeon asked Minseok, who must have found what he was looking for, as he was now writing details on a small card. 

“It’s just a preventive measure,” Minseok explained, holding up the card to see. “Okay, I know what we should be looking for.”

Junmyeon stood up from the chair, following Minseok who was now walking past the aisles, reading each plaque on each bookshelf before hurrying for the next one. “What  _ exactly  _ are we looking for?” Junmyeon asked him, trying to catch up. “You just said something about research.”

Minseok dashed through one of the aisles after finding what he was looking for, now looking at the arrays of books on the wall. “I’m going to admit, I don’t know much about angels,” Minseok said, reading at the book spines, mumbling stuff to himself. “Much left demi-angels. All I remember was stuff that your mother and Zitao told me, but I’ve known there’s been research about it.”

Junmyeon felt bad not being able to help Minseok find what he was looking for, but considering he had no idea on  _ what  _ it was, he couldn’t exactly help him. “What do you mean research about it?” he asked. Wasn’t angel stuff supposed to be secretive anyways?

“There’s always your group of people in every community, paranormal or not, that gets curious and want to discover stuff. Granted, it’s not always ethical, but neither is a lot of studies done in the past for modern science- aha!” Minseok pulled out a thick, heavy book, almost bigger than the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and handed it to Junmyeon. “Can you hold this for me, please?”

“Uh… sure?” Junmyeon held his arms out and Minseok handed the book to him, only for Junmyeon to struggle with it. “Why is this so heavy?!”

“It’s not- oh, I forgot.” He took the book from Junmyeon and set it on the floor. He had forgotten about Junmyeon’s strength. “I’ll carry it in a minute.” 

“You pulled it out, so… so  _ effortlessly _ ,” Junmyeon mumbled. “How strong are you anyways?”

“Technically the strongest, if you don’t include witches since they can manipulate their cells or whatever it is they have.” Minseok pulled out three more books, more novel-size, and handed them to Junmyeon. “Here, I promise these weigh less.”

Junmyeon raised an eye, doubting him, but he still wanted to help, so he took the books from Minseok. Thankfully, these weighed more like what books  _ should  _ weigh. 

Minseok picked up the enormous book and led Junmyeon to one of the tables nearby, turning on the lamp desk on it so that he could see the titles better.

“This is an  _ encyclopedia _ ?” Junmyeon asked, surprised. “Shouldn’t they separate it like the world encyclopedia or something and make more than one volume?”

“It’s an angel encyclopedia,” Minseok explained. “It’s really rare, since not only is it hard to find all the sources mentioned here, but to be able to have it all compiled. Plus, it’s not like we can publish this on the internet or something.”

“The internet  _ is  _ pretty useless,” Junmyeon muttered under his breath. “Basically people were like ‘they don’t exist so why argue about it?’”

Minseok shook his head, wanting to laugh. “Of course you would search on the internet.”

“Well, it’s not like I can talk to an expert about it,” Junmyeon continued. “Why is this book in Korean, anyways? Isn’t that too convenient?”

“It’s a translation,” Minseok explained. “If I remember from what Luhan told me months ago, the original was done in Cantonese, actually, but Jackson and Kris took their time to translate it for the people here to use, not that they do anyways.”

Junmyeon nodded. “That’s really cool actually.”

Minseok opened the enormous book, wiping off the dust on it. “Yeah, translating is no easy work, I tell you, now let’s see-” he flipped through the pages effortlessly, all the dust spreading into the air, making Junmyeon have a coughing fit. “Okay, wow, there’s only three pages about demi angels.”

“THREE PAGES?!” Junmyeon shrieked. “This book is  _ ginormous _ , why is there only three pages?” 

“There’s not that many documented cases,” Minseok said, reading over the pages. He was a bit disappointed, if he was honest. “And I think a lot of this is interpretations from angels in the bible as well.

Junmyeon read over the list of documented cases of demi-angels, with the last one known by some paranormals to be in 1953. “This sucks.”

“Yep, I guess it’s very good that you were a secret,” Minseok said, patting his back. “We’ll find something, I’m sure.”

“It’s fine,” Junmyeon lied. “I appreciate you taking your time to help me with this, though.”

“Well, I’m sure these cases can tell us something,” Minseok said. “We have a lot of reading ahead, anyways.”   
  


  
***

“I’m bored,” Renjun said to the group. 

Lucas took off the box on his head. “Why, aren’t you having fun?”

“It’s like that spongebob episode,” Felix said, pointing his wooden sword at Renjun. “Prepare to die.”

“Yeah, I’m going to hang out with Jaemin and Jeno, it was nice seeing you guys.” Renjun jumped off the couch and headed towards the door. “Bye!”

With that, he left.

Felix took the opportunity of Lucas being distracted to slap the cardboard sword on him, the latter yelping, only for the sword to break apart. “Damn it.”

“I wasn’t ready yet!!” Lucas shrieked. 

“Lucas, it’s fine, it’s just a game,” Jungwoo said, trying to reassure his boyfriend. 

Chen Le nodded. “Yeah, just look for revenge next time-”

“Why are you guys against me?” Felix screamed. He threw his broken sword at Si Cheng, who had been asleep on the couch, startling him. “Si Cheng, are you against me? Please tell me no-”

“Who threw me this?” Si Cheng mumbled, throwing the cardboard sword off him. “I was sleeping!”

“It was Felix,” Jisung said, not looking up from his phone. 

Si Cheng frowned, laying back down on the couch, grabbing a pillow and hugging it. “I’m against you, Felix.”

“NOOOOOOOOO!” Felix wailed, falling on his knees. “I have been deemed an outcast!”

“Hey, if you guys play with real swords, maybe Renjun would want to join,” Chen Le suggested. “You should go get him, he liked danger.”

“Where are we going to get real swords?” Lucas asked, putting the box on Felix’s head, ignoring his screaming. “That’s what you get.”

Jungwoo smiled. “I know where we can get them!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall i miss suho, hope enlistment goes well for him


	10. Meaningful Conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update, i had writer's block for this story and when i got over it i got depreessed for a while but im back lmao

“So, I think I got a lead on Zitao,” Luhan told Yifan later in the evening, the two of them standing in the hallway. “Back in the stronghold in Taiwan, Mark Tuan says that they sense a new intense feeling of magic and they have reasons to suspect it might be him.”

Yifan leaned against the wall behind him, sighing. “I just want to give rid of this motherfucker and just be done with it,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. “I’m so tired all the damn time.”

Luhan rolled his eyes. Yifan was always talking about being tired and complaining he was going to die a premature death despite being immortal and not aging. “It’s just something we have to do, you know,” he reminded him. “Or else he’s just going to be threatening everyone here.”

“Pfft, tell that to Sehun,” Yifan mumbled. “Like he wasn’t trying to kill Zitao when they first met in the first place.”

“Zitao was a nice person back then,” Luhan said. 

He remembers how when Zitao and Sehun first became known to the group of them. Zitao always talked about his young werewolf friend, a guy named Minseok, but Luhan never met him personally until a few years ago when he accidentally tried to kill him, thinking he was trespassing. Not the best way to meet your imprinted soulmate, but…

Honestly, he thought it was so weird. Technically, he’s imprinted twice before, and aren’t you only supposed to imprint once? The second time he didn’t give it much thought, not knowing he imprinted the first time, but now that he knew, it was very weird. 

Yifan shrugged. “Back then being the key word, Luhan. You know people and relationships change over time.”

Luhan wanted to be offended, thinking that Yifan was talking about him and Minseok, but then he remembered how in the past few days, Yifan had not mentioned anything about Junmyeon. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he decided to say, not wanting to pick a fight with Yifan. “What are you implying?”

“Nothing in particular, just in general,” Yifan explained, cracking his fingers. “So who are we picking to go to Taiwan, you want to go?”

Luhan shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll go I guess, been in the mood for some Taiwanese food lately.”

“You’re just gonna end up eating ramen like Jonghyun and Wonho,” Yifan pointed out.

“Don’t attack me, vampire.”   
  


  
***

Minseok tried the best he could to try to find some research on Junmyeon and angels in general, but there just wasn’t much known about demi angels. 

He felt bad for discouraging Junmyeon though. He knew that ever since the latter had found out his true origin that he had been curious for a lot of stuff, and unfortunately, Minseok just hasn’t been alive that long compared to other immortals here. He hasn’t even had that much experience to other paranormals if he was honest; he lived for twenty years a normal teen life with his mom.

Minseok then had gotten turned, and then for a few months with Zitao and his mother until she passed away. Not long after, Zitao had died too, and then Hamyeon, Junmyeon’s mother, died and Minseok followed to where Junmyeon’s grandparents lived to be nearby in case something happened to him. And all of this occurred in a span of two years. 

Yeah, Minseok has  _ not  _ had time to learn about this type of world. 

Most of what he knew had been from teachers from Zitao or when he met Luhan, Yifan and Chanyeol in that bunker of theirs. Anything else had been whenever he had run ins with other individuals while he watched Junmyeon from afar, and those had not been pleasant ones at all. 

It was a good thing that Junmyeon hadn’t been in much trouble, save for that one incident when he was six years old. Minseok didn’t have much time left to be Junmyeon’s guardian, but he was going to put in his best effort until the end. 

Baekhyun was the one who, unfortunately, kept getting hurt, but that was a different story. 

“Sometimes I wish you guys put your findings on google,” Junmyeon said, sighing as he closed the small book in his hands. “We’re just not going to find anything.”

“Don’t get discouraged, something will come up,” Minseok said, accidentally yawning. They’ve been done there for a few hours now, but time flies when you're searching for something. “This isn’t the only book collections we have, you know.”

Junmyeon set the book carefully down on the table, running his hand through his hair. “Isn’t this like the biggest building you guys have or something?” Junmyeon asked. 

Minseok paused for a moment, thinking. “Well… I think this is the biggest, but to be fair, we send all the youngerlings here,” he explained, thinking of all the teens here who had no other families. “Actually, the New York base is pretty big and hidden with wards as well but we don’t really interact with them to be honest. They’re much more sketchy.”

“Sketchy?” Junmyeon asked. “What do you mean sketchy?”

“Just… to be honest, I don’t know, that’s what Luhan told me back then, I’ve never interacted with them,” Minseok explained, sighing. “We should end for the night, I just know Baekhyun is whining waiting for you."

At the mention of Baekhyun, Junmyeon started playing awkwardly with his fingers. “Yeah Baekhyun is… he’s feeling very moody, nowadays.”

Minseok frowned. “I mean… that’s to be expected, considering, you know-”

“Yeah, but he just- he’s just tired of being here, I guess,” Junmyeon admitted. “He gets stressed a lot.”

“That- that doesn’t sound like Baekhyun, though,” Minseok mumbled to himself. “Why don’t we do something this evening, just the three of us, if you want?”

Junmyeon shook his head. “Not staying indoors, Minseok, not like that.”

“Well- what do you mean, you guys always stay indoors all day?” Minseok asked him, confused. Baekhyun and Junmyeon were both introverts and didn’t really like going out. “You guys always stay indoors-”

“But not locked up in a room for months!” Junmyeon unintentionally raised his voice at him. “Sorry, I just- Xiu, back in the house, we would at least do stuff outside, have a picnic, bike, our midnight trips to the gas station nearby, we can’t do anything here, we can’t- we’re just stuck watching television all day and watching everyone argue with each other and it’s exhausting, we want to go home-”

Junmyeon could see how upset Minseok was getting at his rambling, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop, he was just so, so  _ tired  _ of just being here all day-

“You guys are here to be safe,” Minseok reminded him softly. “I have to keep an eye on you, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon sighed, getting up from his chair at the table. “It’s whatever,” he said, defeated. There was no way he was going to be able to argue with Minseok. “Whatever you think it’s best.”

They stayed silent for the rest of the time, the two fixing up the mess they made before parting ways for the night. 

  
  


***

  
  


Baekhyun was sprawled on his bed, facedown on the mattress, groaning every five seconds about boredom. 

He hated being alone. Always hated being alone in his room during his school years, always hated it. He needed to hang out with someone, to talk, to have fun. Being alone sucked ass. 

In high school, Junmyeon and Baekhyun were practically inseparable; where one went, the other joined as well. It wasn’t that they weren’t independent (Junmyeon definitely was, Baekhyun? According to his mom, no.), no, they just had the need to practically have the other one accompany them at all times. 

So, whenever they weren’t doing something together, Baekhyun was bored out of his skull. 

Junmyeon was busy doing something, but he had been taking up a few hours now. Baekhyun should  _ probably  _ be used to this by now, as this has been a common occurrence here in the stronghold where Junmyeon was off somewhere, but Baekhyun wasn’t used to it yet, so let him pout all he wants, he deserves it. 

Plus, Chanyeol was also busy too, saying that Luhan had news or something for him about something important. If Baekhyun was honest, he didn’t like Luhan, especially with how he hurt Minseok, but he had known Chanyeol for a long time, so…

Let’s not even  _ mention  _ Minseok. Minseok was always doing something, either in his room or somewhere else. It was a common occurrence for Minseok to drop out of an activity that Junmyeon and Baekhyun had planned back in their house in the forest. 

So that left Baekhyun being alone in his room. 

Maybe it was the hormones or some science shit that Junmyeon had explained to him, or maybe it was just his personality, but he did  _ not  _ want to be alone in his room. Like he told his best friend the other day, he was  _ tired  _ of being locked up all day! He needed to do something, something  _ crazy- _

Baekhyun pushed himself off the mattress, deep in thought. There were a lot of teens here. Sure, they’ve been teens long before Baekhyun himself was born, but  _ teens  _ nonetheless-

He hastily got off the bed and scrambled to find his shoes, settling for Junmyeon’s sandals that he’s been borrowing for the past two years, putting them on and leaving the room.

He did  _ not  _ have any idea of what he was going to do, but he was going to find the first teen he saw and join in whatever shenanigans they had planned. 

Baekhyun walked down the hallway for a good minute, practically jogging, when he saw two teens, both chatting with one another, so he shouted out at them “HEY! YOU TWO!”

The two stopped in confusion, eyeing Baekhyun curiously. He didn’t know if he and Junmyeon were still in talks between people here, but the two teens seemed to recognize him, so Baekhyun continued speaking. 

“Are you guys doing anything?” Baekhyun asked. “I’m bored.”

One of them, the taller one, spoke up. “We’re going to have a sword fight,” he explained. “But we went to look for our friend Renjun if he wants to join, he left earlier.”

Baekhyun nodded, walking up to them. “Excellent, I’ll join. I could use a sword fighting lesson.”   
  


  
***

_ Zitao came back to the house, closing the door behind him. “Minseok, hey, I missed you.” _

_ Minseok, in question, was sitting on the couch next to the coffee table, where the CD player was playing one of his late mother's CDs, a Chinese singer she always heard. She had such an appreciation for the Chinese language. “Hey.” _

_ “Oof, Mandarin, I love that language.” Zitao kicked off his shoes and sat next to Minseok on the couch, the latter not even bothering to look at him. “Minseok?” _

_ “Mhm,” Minseok hummed, listening to the song playing.  _

_ Zitao didn’t bother to say anything. Minseok had lost his mother two months ago and had been like this for a while. Zitao himself had never had parents, but he had lost a lot of people in his past and he knew he was just going to keep losing more, unfortunately.  _

_ “Do you want to eat anything for dinner?” Zitao asked him. “I can make anything appear of thin air, you know.” _

_ Minseok shook his head. “You can’t create flavor, you know.” _

_ “Yeah I can! Don’t call me tasteless,” Zitao joked. “I can totally create flavor.” _

_ “But not  _ her  _ flavor,” Minseok corrected him.  _

_ Zitao sighed. “Why don’t we order take out then? Anything in particular? Maybe chicken braised soup-” _

_ Minseok’s eyes started to well up in tears, and that’s when Zitao realized what he said.  _

_ “-or any soup, maybe lentil or some weird shit, I don’t know, chicken noodle soup, whatever, you have a preference?” Zitao asked him quickly, trying to make him forget the chicken braised soup comment.  _

_ Minseok shook his head, wiping his face with his sleeve. “No, chicken braised soup sounds good. I don’t remember the last time I had chicken, if I’m honest.” _

_ “Then chicken we shall have.” Zitao wrapped his arm around Minseok’s shoulder, leaning back on the couch. “I could totally use some soup. Maybe we should have lentil tomorrow instead.” _

_ “Aren’t you going to your library spot tomorrow?” Minseok asked him. Zitao had confided in him, explaining how he had an underground library somewhere where he hid his books and materials. It had really strong wards and no one could enter unless you had permission. “You’re going to complain how you're too busy to eat.” _

_ “Maybe I should be like humans and eat soup while I drive,” Zitao said. “Good thing I can teleport.” _

_ “A blessing indeed,” Minseok muttered, resting his head on his palm, eyeing the CD player again. “If only blessings were real.” _

  
  



	11. Yeah, It's been Awhile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no words to say for myself

“THIS-” Baekhyun said, holding the long, 40-inch sword in his hand. “-would be really useful in slicing watermelon. Junmyeon always cuts it for me and I feel bad for him most of the time.”

One of the teens with him (though they were all older than him by, what, a thousand years? Big deal) pulled out an even  _ longer  _ sword, longer than Baekhyun himself. “Why only most of the time?” he asked. 

Baekhyun shrugged. “One time he said expired tofu tasted nasty and I got offended. I  _ made  _ the tofu, but then I forgot he said expired.”

“Mood,” said someone shorter than Baekhyun behind him. “Chen Le, pass me it, it’s my turn on the sword.”

“The  _ Cái zhǐ qì,” _ Chen Le, the one with the bigger sword, said from memory. “This is my favorite sword.”

“Isn’t- uh…” someone said, jumping up from the couch. “Isn’t that only for display? Why are you guys playing with it-”

“ _ Technically  _ I am immortal, Si Cheng,” Chen Le defended himself badly. “So I can do whatever I want-”

“That just means you won’t die of aging or most diseases, idiot,” Si Cheng said back.

Jungwoo held a smaller, one foot sword in his hand, hiding it behind his back. “Just like these certain species of jellyfish.”

“Okay, can you guys explain to me about your immortality?” Baekhyun asked, holding his long ass sword to the side. Out of all of the things he was thinking about doing today, sword fighting was  _ not  _ one of them but certainly a rad option. “Are you guys, like, fully immortal or something?”

None of the youngerlings in the room said anything for a good few seconds. The one who actually did was the last teen laying down on the floor, a magazine over his face as he tried to what Baekhyun assumed to nap. “I don’t know nor do I care.”

“Easy for you to say, you’ve been immortal the shortest amount of time, you still a lot to- wait, what?” Si Cheng said. “I thought you would be ecstatic or something, Jisung.”

The teen, Jisung, sat up, magazine sliding down his chest. “It’s just the same thing over and over, every year,” he said. “Humans are shit. I’m still seventeen.  _ I  _ can’t do shit. And the people here refuse to buy me a horse. And when are Felix and Lucas coming back anyways? Renjun is here, why are they looking for him still?”

Renjun shrugged. “Eh, let them be gone for a few more hours, they’re probably Felix’s crush, Changbin.”

Baekhyun frowned. “How many of you guys are there again?”

“Ooh! Ooh! I know this from memory!” Jungwoo said, proudly, hugging his small sword to his chest. Damn, his clothes must be some really strong fabric if they weren’t being cut, Baekhyun noticed. “There’s us, then there is Taeyong, Chan, Kun, Doyoung, Jeno, Jaemin, Hyunjin-”

“That’s more people than brain cells some of y’all have, cough cough,  _ Jisung _ ,” Renjun said, muttering the last part. 

Baekhyun couldn’t here, but since everyone here is strong and immortal and have found the secret to long lasting youth or whatever,  _ they  _ could. “What the hell did you just say to me, millennial?” Jisung shouted to him. 

“Woah, hold on, y- y’all are  _ millennials _ ?” Baekhyun stuttered out, holding his long knife close 

At that moment, the door burst open, two other teens who Baekhyun assumed to be the so-called Felix and Lucas. “HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN RENJUN???” the tall one said. “WE CAN’T FIND HIM!”

“Damn, I wonder where he went,” Renjun said. “That’s wild, have you checked the kitchen? Maybe you should get him an ice cream sandwich, Lucas.”

“Oh, we didn’t check the kitchen,” Lucas said. “Felix! We have to check the kitchen!”

“Okay, but I want to play with that big sword when we come back,” Felix said, pointing to Baekhyun. “And- holy! You’re the love of Chanyeol’s life! You brought the human here???”

“Course we did, he wanted to join our sword fight,” Chen Le said. “And I don’t know anything about Chanyeol but I hate Kris, he hurt the demi-angel’s feelings. And Luhan hurt Minseok, too.”

Lucas cracked his knuckles. “If only they could age like humans, they are so old they would have no bones and I could beat them up.”

“You guys are going to be dead in five seconds once they discovered you guys took some rare ass swords,” Jisung said, lying back down. “Now go find Renjun, I don’t want to hear him anymore.”

Felix raised a hand to his head. “Roger that!” he said, leaving the room, Lucas following behind him. 

A few seconds past, the room in silence, Baekhyun hella confused, when Renjun said, “y’all are fucking stupid.”

***

“Junmyeon?” Yifan asked, knocking on his door again. “Are you in there?”

No answer. 

“I mean, if you don’t want to talk, just- just let me know, I guess,” Yifan continued to ramble. “I just, you know, want to see if you are okay.” 

….. “Junmyeon?”

It was no use. 

Sighing, Yifan took his hand off the door, still staring at the door in front of him. He didn’t mean to offend Junmyeon a few days ago, and they haven’t talked since, unfortunately. 

He turned away from the door, ready to head back, only to hear it open behind him. Confused, he turned around and saw Junmyeon standing in front of him, his hair dripping wet, his body only covered by a towel wrapped around him tightly. 

  
“I’m  _ so  _ sorry,” Junmyeon said, panting for a few seconds before continuing. “I was- I was in the shower, I was just  _ so  _ tired and I really wanted hot water and I didn’t hear you knocking until I turned off the water-”

“No, no, you’re- you’re good,” Yifan stammered. “I- I didn’t know, I just knew you were in here and just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Junmyeon nodded frantically, looking away as he ran his free hand through his hair, the other holding his towel around his chest. “I’m- I mean, I- yeah, I’m okay,” he mumbled. “Don’t worry.”

Yifan nodded as well, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Okay. Okay, yeah, I’m- I’m glad to hear that,” he said. “Yeah.”

They didn’t say anything for a few seconds afterwards, not daring to look at the other in the eye. 

That is, until Yifan remembered that Junmyeon was practically half  _ naked  _ in front of him, not to mention wet. 

“Oh, fuck, I should let you change,” Yifan said, stepping back to turn away. “I’ll see you later, then, I have to- I have to meet someone.”

“I- that’s it?” Junmyeon whispered. “Already?”

“Already what?” Yifan asked, confused. “Junmyeon, you’re half naked, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

As soon as Yifan said the word  _ naked _ , Junmyeon could immediately feel how warm his cheeks were getting, the heat creeping up his neck. “Oh, I- oh fuck-”

Usually, on instinct, when Junmyeon blushed and he could feel himself getting red, he would reach out to touch his face with his hands, and just like last times, he did, so of course, that meant that he let go of his towel. 

However, he was right in front of Yifan. 

Because of fucking gravity, his towel started sliding off his body, and Junmyeon didn’t notice it at first, too worried of Yifan seeing his flushed face, so Yifan acted in a moment of panic and reached forward to grab onto the towel, pulling it upwards again to hide Junmyeon’s body, the two in each other’s personal space. 

Junmyeon’s eyes widened once he realized what happened. “Oh- oh my god, I’m so  _ sorry _ -”

“No, it’s not your fault! I just figured that- well, I mean, obviously you’re not going to be naked in front of me,” Yifan rambled again. “Not that I would  _ mind _ -”

Even though Junmyeon’s cheeks were covered with his hands, Yifan could practically see how much redder than they were getting. 

“I- I didn’t mean it that way! I- I mean. I figured you didn’t want to show it, uh- you know, privacy, uh-”

“WHAT are you two doing?” 

The two of them turned their heads to see Baekhyun down from the hallway, a ginormous sword in his hand, two of the younger teens beside him. “Junmyeon, are you-”

“I HAVE TO CHANGE!” Junmyeon said, grabbing onto his towel and stepping back from Yifan’s grasp into his room, closing his door shut. 

Yifan, not taking any chances, was thankful, yet once again, for his extreme speed, and ran down lightning speed down the hallway, not wanting to face Baekhyun. He didn’t even notice that the teens had a two thousand year old sword in his hand, no, he was trying his best to get rid of the image of Junmyeon naked forming in his head, Yifan running his hands through the latter’s wet hair. 

***

It was three am, and Minseok drowned his fifth espresso shot before typing up a reply email into his laptop. 

_ To: seonghwa-hwaseong@gmail.com _

_ From: kimminseok23@gmail.com _

_ Hey, Seonghwa, no worries, I understand that it can’t work. Thank you so much for trying to help, anyways, I know it wasn’t easy for you to gather up all those documents. I’ll keep looking, I think Taecyeon said that there was someone in Seoul I could talk to.  _

_ -K. M. _

Remembering about keeping his emotions in control, Minseok wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweater, ignoring the new wetness feelings as he pressed send on the email, closing his laptop immediately afterwards, resting his head on it. 

Great. Just  _ great _ . Just when he thought he finally,  _ finally _ , found a lead that wouldn’t lead him to a dead end. 

He was used to this happening, unfortunately, so he did what he always did; he allowed a few tears to fall down his face, wiped them up with his sleeve, and sat back up on his chair, opening his desk drawer and rummaging through some folders until he found the one he wanted. 

Taking out his notepad, Minseok reread over the documents again, racking through his brain for any ideas that he might have at any moment. 

He thought of being in the library earlier with Junmyeon. The last documented case of a demi-angel was back in the 1950s, and both Minseok  _ and  _ Junmyeon weren’t even alive yet. And there was no use for it, anyways; the demi-angel was reported dead, body found in a stream. The Brazilian government reported it as overdose, though it’s obvious that there was the work of paranormal activity going on. 

Besides, demi-angels couldn’t help in his case, anyways. 

Why? Why did it have to be pure angel blood? What was so special about the blood of the angel, anyways? Were they any good as the bible often praised them to be anyways?

Maybe Minseok should have asked this to Hamyeon back when she was still alive, he figured. Would she have answered him? Or would she have given him a confused answer filled with riddles? 

He wrote down that question in his notepad and looked at the clock again. 3:12 am. 

He had plenty of time before he should head to sleep anyways. 

  
  


***

“I had fun with the teens,” Baekhyun exclaimed proudly to Junmyeon. “They’re kind of wack, though. They’ve been cooped up in this place forever.”

Junmyeon, freshly showered (don’t remind him of the incident that occurred a while ago), was sitting cross-legged on his bed, eating a bowl of ramen, frowning at Baekhyun’s statement. “What do you mean, they’ve been cooped up forever?” he asked, taking another bite. 

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “As in, most of them since they’ve been dumped in this place. No wonder so many of them find the concept of immortality to be boring. Also, did you know some jellyfish were immortal?”

“Some species, yeah, because they do some reverse aging or something,” Junmyeon said, reciting from memory. “Wait… dumped? Like when they got abandoned?”

“Yeah, a lot of them were left on their own when turned or confused, many were rescued,” Baekhyun explained. “It’s obvious, you know. Many of them refuse to talk about their family, and it’s not because they’re dead.”

Junmyeon dropped his fork into the ramen bowl, setting it down on the nightstand. He could feel himself getting nauseous. “How much longer do you think we’ll stay here?” he whispered. “We’ve been here for so long.”

Baekhyun shrugged. “I don’t know. My mom’s been texting  _ again  _ of when I’m going to meet her,” he said. “And I want to see her soon before my belly, you know-” he made a circle motion around his stomach. “Last thing I need is for her to perform an exorcism.”

“That would be unfortunate,” Junmyeon mumbled. “But yeah. We have to go back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honeslty, if you guys are still reading this, I'm really impressed  
there's been a lot going on in my life, im sorry (and i feel like im not trying my best for this fic) its not abdoned tho! itll take some time


	12. What You Came Here For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy 202! how long have i been writing this again

As it was the daily norm, Minseok had eyebags present while eating a bowl of soup that Junmyeon brought him at around 4 PM the next day. 

“This is really good,” Minseok said, scooping up another spoonful. “You- you didn’t have to make this for me, thanks.”

Junmyeon bit his lip. He really hoped Minseok couldn’t detect the worry that was surely plastered on his face. “It’s fine, Xiu,” he said, pulling down his hoodie sleeve. “I know you’re working a lot.”

As soon as Junmyeon said  _ work _ , Minseok let the spoon fall into the bowl, pausing before answering to Junmyeon. “If you can even call it that.”

Junmyeon frowned. “What do you mean?”

Minseok sighed, moving the spoon around. “Just the usual, I guess,” he said. “No progress. You get used to it.” 

Normally, Junmyeon would say something along the lines of not giving up hope and such, how everything takes time, but it hurt him to see how hopeless Minseok had been looking these past few weeks, and at this point, Junmyeon didn’t know what to do. 

He thought about his conversation with Baekhyun earlier, how the latter wanted to leave this place. Junmyeon understood Minseok’s need to have them here, but he also understood why his best friend was desperate to be gone. 

“I- I get what you mean,” Junmyeon said, his fingers playing with his hoodie sleeve. “Like it just keeps dragging on and on and on and you just end up… I don’t know how to explain it.”

Minseok frowned. “Wait, what’s dragging on?”

“Nothing,” Junmyeon said too quickly. “It’s nothing, Minseok, you don’t have to worry about it.”

No doubt Minseok knew something was up, but he didn’t say anything else, continuing to eat the soup; he didn’t want it to get cold. Plus, he wasn’t the type to pry if the other party didn’t want to talk about it. 

Junmyeon could feel the guilt climb up his throat. As much as he wanted to internally blame Baekhyun for putting the thoughts, he knew that he’s been thinking about going back to their small little house in the woods, back to a simpler time that he didn’t have to worry about people trying to kill them or his background. 

He looked at his own bowl of soup, which was going to turn cold in a minute. He had lost his appetite. 

Taking a deep breath beforehand, Junmyeon blurted out, “We want to leave.”

Minseok, startled, dropped part of the soup on his lap, eyeing Junmyeon. “I’m sorry,  _ what _ ?” 

“I- we want to leave,” Junmyeon said again, a little louder this time. “It’s just…”

It was  _ really  _ hard to speak with the wide-eyed stare that Minseok was giving him. 

“We’re a burden here,” Junmyeon explained. “We don’t do anything, and it’s just… unproductive. Not to mention Baekhyun is bored out of his school. Wouldn’t it be better to go back?”

Minseok didn’t say anything at first, instead focusing on setting the now-empty bowl of soup on the nightstand behind him. “Junmyeon,” he said slowly. Hopefully he didn’t explode on him. “I don’t give a fuck on what the people here think of you guys-”

“That’s kind of harsh to say,” Junmyeon whispered. 

“But I  _ don’t _ ,” Minseok repeated. “Clearly, they don’t care about me, and there’s nothing I can do about it. The only reason I’m here at this point is to make sure you and Baekhyun are safe.” He paused. “You can’t leave.”

Junmyeon bit his lip again, feeling a slight tang of metal in his mouth, no doubt from blood that he drew. “Minseok,” he said, “Please let us leave.”

Minseok didn’t bother to look at him, instead, choosing to get off from the bed. “I need to clean up-”

“This was supposed to be temporary,” Junmyeon reminded him, trying not to start an argument. He already knew Minseok was dealing with a lot right now and didn’t want him to have any more negative thoughts. “You know that.”

“Yeah, that was  _ before  _ Zitao came back to life, you got exposed as a demi-angel, and not only you and Baekhyun are seeing people, he’s now even  _ expecting,” _ Minseok harshly said. “A child, Junmyeon.”

Junmyeon opened his mouth, trying to think of a good counter argument, but came up blank. “So- so you’re saying we’re stuck here forever.”

“I’m not saying that,” Minseok corrected him. “I’m saying it’s not safe right now.”

“And when does right now  _ end _ ?!” Junmyeon said, yelling the last part to his friend. “When, Xiumin, when?!”

Minseok ran his fingers through his hair, forcing himself not to pull any strands out. “I don’t know.”

Minseok went to his closest and pulled out a towel, so Junmyeon took that as his cue to leave. “Good night, I guess,” he said, forgetting momentarily that it was merely 4 in the afternoon. “I’ll see you later.”

Junmyeon got off the bed, heading towards the front door, when he heard Minseok call him out. “Myeon, wait.”

Confused, Junmyeon turned to face Minseok, who wasn’t even looking at him. “What is it, Minseok?”

Minseok played with the ring on his finger. “If you two do decide to leave,” he whispered quietly. “Let me know to go with you guys. And let your significant know.”

***

After his conversation with Minseok during the middle of the day, Junmyeon relayed the message to Baekhyun, feeling disheartened over the whole thing; he  _ knew  _ it was bad timing for them to be asking to leave, but…

It just wasn’t welcoming here, in Junmyeon’s opinion. Sure, no one was outright  _ rude  _ to him, but it wasn’t really delightful to be referred to as to “the human” by everyone in the stronghold, although now it was “the demi-angel” instead. 

Plus, it was obvious they didn’t belong here. The people here were busy defeating this Song person’s group, who if he recalled correctly, a bunch of his men disappeared a while ago. Junmyeon didn’t keep up with news like that, he remembered hearing about it right when Baekhyun became, well- 

Speaking of which, that meant that Baekhyun kept craving his candy obsession again. 

As soon as Junmyeon opened the door to Baekhyun’s room after asking to come in, Baekhyun didn’t even wait two seconds to start whining about ice cream. 

“It’s been  _ months  _ since I’ve had ice cream!” Baekhyun explained, throwing himself backwards on the bed as Junmyeon slipped off his shoes. “I know I have to be healthy for Chaewon, anyways.”

Junmyeon raised an eye. “Uh… who’s Chaewon?”

“Oh.” Baekhyun sat up, grabbing a nearby pillow; it was the  _ only  _ one that wasn’t on the floor anyways. Yeah he knew he had to clean up, thank you very much. “I thought it was a cute name for her.”

“A cute name for- wait, what?” Junmyeon sat down on the bed, across from Baekhyun. “You already came up with a name?” 

Baekhyun nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “At least, I think it’s a girl. I just thought Chaewon was cute.”

Junmyeon extended his hand across the bed slowly, reaching out to grab Baekhyun’s palm. “That’s a pretty name,” he said truthfully. “Does Chanyeol know?” 

“No,” Baekhyun answered too quickly. “He does not. Maybe he  _ would  _ if he weren’t gone all the time.”

Junmyeon has almost forgotten what he had come here for. “Oh, yeah, that’s why I came to talk to you, actually.”

***

If you asked Yifan, he  _ does  _ regret how he’s been acting lately. 

You have to understand him, though. There’s just  _ too  _ much going on right now, and Yifan doesn’t know how to deal with it anymore. 

This happens often, unsurprisingly. Every few decades, some big crisis comes up by some paranormal creatures who get a little too ambitious, or some greater demon wants to cause havoc, or a simple human who wants to create chaos. You would think he would get used to it by now. 

As one of the oldest people in their group, having been around for almost a millennium, Yifan did have a lot of respect and power among them, and people trusted him that he would handle things correctly. Which is why he hated the crisis like now. How he wished to go back to when the three of them were living underground in that bunker, doing particularly nothing. 

For one, Luhan is being  _ extremely  _ weird right now, especially with Minseok. What the hell does he mean, he’s imprinted twice before? How was that even possible? Also, he’s just becoming downright rude sometimes. Yifan has actually started to wonder if maybe some of the demonic energy had been spreading to Luhan, but Yifan didn’t sense anything, and Minseok’s demon blood didn’t make him rude, either. 

Maybe Luhan was just a bitch. 

Yifan rubbed his face vigorously, forcing himself to breath. He had to think of the next steps. They weren’t getting any progress sitting around here doing nothing and bitching to each other. 

He sensed him before he knocked, but the sound still startled Yifan, who was expecting himself to manage to be alone for a while. 

He opened the door to his room and saw Junmyeon, who was anxiously playing with the sleeves of his sweater. 

In a useless attempt, Yifan tried to make his hair look somewhat presentable despite Junmyeon having already seen it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were coming-”

Junmyeon shook his head. “Me neither,” he said softly. “But I thought I’d tell you in person instead of being a coward.”

Yifan frowned. Damn the witch Kibum and his power of mind-reading, Yifan could  _ really  _ use it by now. “Tell me what?”

Junmyeon bit his lip. They were bloody, Yifan noticed, meaning Junmyeon must have done it a lot earlier. “I understand if you want to break up, but-”

Woah, hold on, break  _ up _ ?

“You’re  _ breaking up  _ with me?!” Yifan said loudly. 

“What, no! I’m just- I’m just saying I would understand,” Junmyeon explained quickly, not wanting Yifan to get mad at him. Well, he might be soon anyways. “But I… I’m going to leave soon, I guess.”

Yifan frowned. “Leave?”

Junmyeon hid his hands behind his back. “Yeah, I- well, you know how restless Baekhyun is getting,” he said. “And… yeah, just for a while. It’s just… I don’t want to burden you guys and it’s been  _ really  _ negative lately-”

“Junmyeon, you’re not a burden,” Yifan interrupted him. “I- fuck, oh fuck, no, I- I’m sorry, I know the past few days we haven’t been talking much,” he rambled, “and I didn’t mean to upset you, I just have a lot going on-”

“I know,” Junmyeon said. “I know, I just- I don’t like seeing all the hatred around here,” he explained. “And you know how Minseok has been dealing with a lot of that and it’s heartbreaking to see that. And Baekhyun, he shouldn’t be going through so much stress.”

Yifan tightened his fists on his side, forcing himself not to yell. Junmyeon didn’t deserve that. “We can think of something-”

“The  _ last  _ thing you need to worry about is me,” Junmyeon said. “Just try to stay safe, Yifan. I- I get worried. I’m worried.”

  
  


***

“Dude, literally  _ what  _ are you doing here?” Jongdae asked Yifan, who was the only other person present. 

Yixing had asked him earlier to talk to Yifan about some coordinates he found earlier, and Jongdae came to look for him, only to find Yifan alone where the underground cave was, with the waterfalls.

It was a pretty place, in Jongdae’s opinion, but it was really only Yifan who often came under here. If he could recall correctly, that’s where the vampire had his first kiss with the demi-angel or something. Jongdae didn’t know, he probably accidentally doze off when Yixing spoke about it-

Oh. Right. What he came here for. 

He looked at Yifan again. He was drawing random characters on the sand, Chinese characters. Yifan never looked  _ this  _ distant. 

“Go away,” was all Yifan muttered, continuing to draw on the sand. 

“I can’t, Yixing asked me to tell you something,” Jongdae said, pulling up his phone. He had written everything in the notes app, he hated using paper. “Something about coordinates-”

“Coordinates, coordinates, sighting, location, this and that,” Yifan rambled, grabbing a tiny rock on the ground and launching it across the cave, where it made a splash in the water where it landed. “No progress. It’s the same thing every century. I’m bored, I’m tired, there’s people trying to kill us, and I can’t even keep a boyfriend. What’s the point of  _ fucking  _ living anyways?”

Jongdae frowned. “Kris, you  _ have  _ a boyfriend,” he reminded him, thinking the vampire had amnesia again or something. It had been decades ago, but still. “The demi-angel, remember? Dude barely speaks-”

Yifan grabbed another rock and threw it across the body of water. This time, he must have launched it far enough, as a loud echo could be heard throughout the whole cave. “Shut the  _ fuck _ up, Chen!”

“Why?!” Jongdae asked him. “It’s true, and hurry up and start whining, don’t make me get Luhan-”

“Yeah, cause Luhan is  _ so  _ good at keeping someone too,” Yifan said, his voice now getting louder. “And no doubt Luhan’s problems with Minseok caused a root in mine and Junmyeon’s, too. Now, if you can  _ please  _ fuck off before I bite your neck-”

“What do you  _ mean,  _ Luhan’s problems?” Jongdae asked, confused. “What is going  _ on  _ with you, Yifan? Since when do you get so moody?”

“He’s going to be  _ gone _ !” Yifan shouted. “I know I’ve been an asshole, and if you guys didn’t fucking argue all the time during the meetings we wouldn’t be dealing with this in the first place!”

“Hold on, Kris Wu, you argue a whole fucking lot during the meetings, too!” Jongdae yelled at him. “And what do you  _ mean  _ problems, what’s going on, anyways?!” 

Yifan got up from where he had been sitting on the floor. “They’re leaving.”

“Who’s they?” Jongdae asked. 

“JUNMYEON AND BAEKHYUN, IDIOT!” Yifan yelled, kicking another rock across the cave. “Along with Minseok!”

Jongdae’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck, Baekhyun? He can’t leave, Chanyeol will no doubt follow him and we need Chanyeol! It’s about what Yixing wanted me to talk to you about, anyways!”

Ah, shit, Yifan didn’t even think about Chanyeol. 

He let out another loud cry in the cave, launching another rock with his hand, and Jongdae knew they were going to be in some hot water now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry guys, im just struggling a bit cause i strayed from the outline. but im glad u guys like it!   
i have three ideas for another krisho stories, would you guys like fantasy, highschool abo, or serious hs au? 
> 
> remember, this series isnt abandoned! i just take a while to update, sorry, but it should be picking up the pace again! i feel more confident now. besides, i have 9 books planned for this series XD its in sets of three, so the first three is the krisho plot, and you can read the third book as the last with no cliffhanger. the other two sets have different main characters but krisho is still a very important part, so :D like deadass. i hope you guys have been enjoying everything!


	13. Touch Me and You're Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for context: if you guys get confused on some parts of this chapter, i recommend you reread some parts in the first book, specifically around the part when... will, you figure it out :)
> 
> UNEDITED FYI SORRRY FOR ANY ERRORS

“Are you  _ sure  _ this is a good idea?” Yixing asked Luhan, hiding his  _ Yīyī zhìyù _ sword behind his back. “You don’t even have a protection cross on you.”

Luhan shook his head. “I’m good,” he muttered, stepping closer into the dark alley. “You didn’t have to come with me, you know.”

“You didn’t have to come  _ alone, _ ” Yixing said. “Did you even tell anyone you were coming?”

Luhan didn’t say anything in response, stopping in front of a beat-up wooden door, giving it a few knocks.

Yixing sighed. The  _ only  _ reason he knew Luhan was going somewhere was because the witch Kibum could read what Luhan was planning and told Yixing to make sure Luhan didn’t go alone. Yixing didn’t really want to snitch on Luhan to someone, so he decided to tag along with him. Sure, he wasn’t  _ that  _ powerful of a witch, but… help was help, he supposed. 

Plus, he knew that once Luhan made up his mind about something, it was hard to get him to change it. Stubborn. 

Luhan pounded the door more frantically, shouting for them to open up. Still, though, they couldn’t hear anyone inside make any movement. 

“Luhan, who are you expecting?” Yixing asked him. “I don’t think anyone is here, I don’t sense anyone-”

“They could be using blockers,” Luhan interrupted him. He took a few steps back and drew out his own sword, the  _ Gōrudensureiyā _ . “Yixing, be careful-”

“You are an  _ idiot,  _ you know that, right?” Yixing said, rolling up the sleeve on his right hand. “Move, Luhan, it’s an old  _ door _ , you  _ don’t  _ need to activate the sword’s ancient magic-”

“Again, they could be hiding their presence, Lay, we should be careful!” Luhan yelled at him. “No one in our stronghold has died yet and I would like it to stay that way-”

Yixing let out some curses in Chinese and ran towards the door, kicking it down with one kick, the hinges making an annoying sound as they were ripped off. “There. Mission accomplished.”

Luhan glared at him, putting his sword away on a sheath on his back. “You should be glad nothing happened.”

“Bitch, I am a  _ witch _ , I know more than you,” Yixing said, taking one step to the side as he gestured his hand towards the flat. “Now, continue whatever it is you were planning.”

Luhan rolled his eyes but stepped into the flat, looking around. It was dark inside, and with the normal human eye, you wouldn’t be able to see anything, but luckily, him being a werewolf let him have advanced eyesight.

“They must be hiding,” Luhan muttered, taking out his sword again. 

“Excuse me, who’s  _ they _ ?” Yixing asked him. “Luhan, I am not Kibum or Zitao, I absolutely  _ cannot  _ read your mind, you need to be more vocal here.”

“Is this how you educate the teens back at the stronghold?” Luhan asked, turning around to look at him.

Yixing crossed his arms over his chest. “Believe it or not, they are _ much  _ better at following instructions than you.”

“Oh, how lovely,” Luhan muttered, taking more steps into the place. “I don’t give a fuck.”

“I figured!” Yixing exclaimed, making his way towards the wall covered with bullet holes. He could see that the room adjacent to it must have been a bedroom of some sort. “Luhan. Tell me what we’re here for.”

Luhan ran his fingers over a broken coffee table, brushing off the dust revealing blood spatters underneath. “You remember how a few months ago I was kidnapped?”

Oh, yeah, Yixing did, unfortunately, remembered. Someone had pretended to be Junhui and called Minghao to come rescue him, and Luhan, who had tagged along with him and also Vernon, had been injured in the process. 

It had been quite the episode, to be honest. “Yeah, I remember,” Yixing said. There had been a  _ lot  _ of injuries that he had to help heal when everyone came back almost half-dead. “You had your guts practically spilling out.”

“Yeah, thanks for reminding me,” Luhan mumbled, kicking over some wires that were on the floor. Platinum, from what Yixing could detect. “But anyways, that group that those guys were in, this is one of their hideouts-”

“Wait, wait, wait, so, you-” Yixing, who had been walking towards a door that he was sure led to the bedroom with bullet holes, stopped and turned to look at Luhan. “Excuse me,  _ what _ ? You  _ willingly  _ are coming towards them ALONE?!”

“You make it seem  _ that  _ bad,” Luhan said, looking up at the dirtied ceiling, a string falling on his face. He pulled on it and a faint glow filled the room. “Interesting. This place still has electricity.”

“You-  _ you  _ are out of your mind,” Yixing said, taking out his phone. “I’m calling Jongdae, I’m calling people here- hey!”

Luhan had sprinted towards him and slapped the phone out his hands. “No the  _ fuck  _ you’re not,” he said in a low voice. “Yixing, do not worry about my safety, you are free to go, but I’m staying here and finding out what is going on.”

Yixing glared at Luhan, not breaking eye contact as he walked at where his phone fell, bending down to pick it when, just when he was about to grab it, stopped. “No way.”

“You better not- wait, what?” Luhan titled his head, confused. “Uh, no way about what?”

Ignoring him, Yixing picked up his phone and stood in front of the door of the bedroom, raising up a hand. “I found something.”

“Found what?” Luhan asked, standing beside Minseok. “Are you going to break down that door again?”

Yixing pointed at the doorknob- wait. “Luhan, there’s no doorknob, it’s not going to be locked,” he said, putting his hand in the whole and jerking the door opened, giving them a better view of the bedroom - well, the remnants of it, anyways. 

When he opened the door, Luhan started coughing as some dust particles got lifted up. “Oh, god, that’s disgusting- dude, what-”

Yixing took out his sword, and without warning, stabbed it through the floor, making a sharp line down the floorboards, a loud noise filling the room.

“I  _ said  _ I found something, now call Yoongi and Jihoon,” he said, tossing his phone to Luhan. “We got a  _ much  _ bigger problem here than some stupid people with blockers, this is more dangerous-”

“ _ Literally  _ what just- why did you suddenly pull a 360?” Luhan asked him, watching as Yixing teared up some more of the floorboards. “LAY!”

“It’s 180,” Yixing corrected him, dropping his sword on the ground which made a clattering sound. He got down on his knees and yanked some of the wood panels out, pulling out- “It's a Blinding Crystal.”

Luhan widened his eyes, standing in shock as he stared at the sun quartz in Yixing hands, who was staring at it in awe. “A- a  _ what _ ?” 

Yixing rummaged through the pile and pulled out another one, this time a spicy quartz. “There’s some in here, I think- oh, god, there’s some dust quartz, too-”

“I- you said- BLINDING CRYSTALS?!” Luhan shrieked, immediately grabbing his own phone and sending Yifan a text. “Well, shit.”

“Oh,  _ now  _ you want to- well, whatever, we have to get these out of here,” Yixing said, looking around the room. “Luhan, pass me one of the pillowcases.”

“Hold on, hold on, give me a second-” Luhan trailed off, rapidly explaining the situation to Yifan. He also copied the message and sent it to Yugyeom, who lived nearby, and out of habit, to Minseok. “Wait-”

Yixing rolled his eyes, standing up with some of the crystals in his hand. They didn’t shine that bright, since much of their power had been used, which could only be bad news. However, the power could always be restored, but it was quite the complicated process. “I got it- fuck.”

Luhan raised an eye. Yixing rarely used the f-bomb. “What’s got  _ you  _ saying-”

Yixing quickly ran to the bed and yanked a pillowcase off a pillow and started putting the crystals in it. “Luhan, we got to act quick.”

“Okay, sorry.” Luhan pocketed his phone and grabbed some of the crystals, handing them to Yixing. “Wonder what these were used for.”

“Nothing good, I’m sure-” Yixing, who had grabbed a petal quartz, stopped when he noticed something coating it. “Obsidian alloy,” he muttered, his fingers sweeping up some of the powder.” 

“That’s- isn’t that a rare demon weakness?” Luhan asked, only for the two of them to freeze.

From the other room, they could hear people enter, shouting to get the two paranormals. 

  
  


***   
  
  


The three of them walked through the forest, bags in hand, stopping when they saw the familiar house come into view. 

Well, technically Minseok saw it first beforehand, but anyways.

“Looks the same as always,” Baekhyun said, rolling his suitcase behind him as he took more steps towards his house. “I miss this place. I left my stashed of Disney DVDs here.”

“Yeah, good thing Disney+ is a thing now,” Junmyeon said, walking behind Baekhyun. Technically, this place has always been Baekhyun’s, even though his friend constantly referred to it as their home. “It’s really been a while.”

Minseok followed them, still looking around to make sure they hadn’t been followed. It was going to be harder now to take care of them, with no wards in place and them being all alone out here, but Minseok had been left in charge to take care of them, and he would do that until the very end. 

He thought of the old days, when he would hang out with Hamyeon, Taeyeon and Zitao. He really did love them, and he hated how he was the only one left. 

The three of them walk up the front steps of the house, and Baekhyun pulls out his keys, two tootsie rolls falling out of his pocket. 

“What- what fell?” Junmyeon asked, staring at the ground. “Baekhyun, you’re  _ still  _ eating-”

Baekhyun didn’t attempt to cover it, instead, staring at the candy on the floor. Chanyeol had given them to him, he remembers. Chanyeol always had candy in a big bag. 

“I hope you didn’t eat too much,” Junmyeon concluded, looking at Baekhyun. Even though they were best friends, Baekhyun didn’t need to be scolded that much; Junmyeon didn’t want to annoy him. “Baek?”

His friend didn’t say anything, his eyes getting wet. “Sorry,” he said, wiping his face with his sleeve before jamming the house key into the lock, turning it. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Minseok asked, worried. “Baekhyun, are you in pain? Is-”

“I’m  _ okay,  _ guys, I’m just- I’m fine, it’s probably hormones or something,” Baekhyun trailed off, opening the door to the house. 

The place looked untouched, exactly as how they had left it. There was some dust from how they haven’t been here to clean, but other than that, it was just how they remembered. 

Junmyeon thought of how Baekhyun had told him earlier that he argued with Chanyeol when he told him he wanted to leave, but Baekhyun didn’t give him any more details. No, they did not break up, but that was, unfortunately, all the information Junmyeon had. 

He hoped Baekhyun would feel better. Junmyeon  _ really  _ did not like to see him sad. 

Baekhyun left his suitcase in the foyer and took a few steps towards the kitchen until he remembered they had no food. “Ah, fuck,” he said, headed towards the hallway instead. “We’ll have to go to the gas station again.”

Right, the one where when they left, they almost got murdered. “I can- I can order something if you want and go pick it up,” Junmyeon offered, heading after him. “Baekhyun-”

“No, I’ll go later, don’t worry,” Baekhyun insisted, and their voices disappeared as they left the living room. 

Minseok looked around. He had been here multiple times throughout the past two, almost three years, but he had never lived with them, not wanting any danger to be brought to them. Back then, he had been known as Xiumin, not Minseok, in order for him to not be traceable. They didn’t know anything about the paranormal world yet.

He felt his phone vibrate, meaning he got a message, but not wanting to deal with the people back at the stronghold yet (he only told the teens he was gone, no one else), he turned off the ringer and sat down, running his hands through his hair as he remembered when he first met Luhan in the exact same forest. 

***

Chen Le burst through the door of the room. “WE HAVE BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS” He yelled. 

“Yes, Minseok is gone and I want to die,” Renjun mumbled, playing with a toy car on the coffee table. “I hate life. He showed me a good stabbing technic earlier-”

“Is  _ no one  _ else worried how much he constantly mentions stabbing?” Si Cheng asked. 

“No,” Lucas and Felix said in unison at the same time. 

Jisung, who was lying down on the couch going through his phone, looked up. “What’s wrong, Chen Le?” he asked. 

Jungwoo appeared behind Chen Le, out of breath. “Guys, we have news-”

“Hello, love of my life!” Lucas exclaimed, immediately sitting up straighter. “I love you.”

Jungwoo smiled. “Me too-”

“Guys, what’s this so-called news?” Si Cheng asked them again. 

“I do  _ not  _ want to hear about Minseok leaving!!” Renjun yelled.

“About that-” Chen Le said, digging through his bag. “He gave me this and said it’s only for emergencies-”

“Do we…  _ have  _ an emergency?” Felix asked. 

Chen Le looked up to the ceiling for a few seconds before shrugging. “I don’t know, they were yelling in one of the main rooms and Chanyeol was crying- ANYWAYS!” Chen Le took off his backpack and placed it on the floor, kneeling as he unzipped it. “He gave me something for emergencies, like if we need to escape this place-”

“Why would we need to escape?” Renjun asked, looking hopeful. “I get to leave this place and never look at Jaemin and Jeno again??”

Jisung raised an eye, sitting up. “Bro, what did they do to you?” he asked.

“Uh, nothing?” Renjun asked. “I’m the one who fell in love, not them?”

“Oh, speaking of love, Hyunjin told me a secret about Changbin,” Felix said, clapping his hands. “His favorite food. I’m going to ask Junmyeon to help me- oh.”

Jungwoo pouted. “I miss him.”

“Man, I hate being immortal,” Jisung said, lying back down on the couch. He grabbed a pillow of the floor and covered his face with it. “Fucking hate it-”

Chen Le pulled out a sandalwood box. “Look!”

“Woah, what is  _ that _ ?” Lucas exclaimed. “Woah, that looks  _ cool! _ ”

“Minseok said there was something in there to leave the barrier in this place rapidly, should we need to evacuate!” Chen Le said. “So I was thinking…”

“To leave even though it’s not an emergency?” Si Cheng spoke up. “Good, let’s do it.”

“Uh, that sounds  _ mildly  _ dangerous,” Renjun said. “I agree.”

“Wait, we’re  _ leaving  _ this place?!” Jisung said. “When will we come back??”

Chen Le shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe whoever wants to go can raise their hand!” Jungwoo suggested. “We need a vote.”

Without another thought, seven hands went up in the air. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY SOME P R O G R E SS  
im SO sorry ive been slow with this story my outline sucked ass ngl  
Also i dont have social media anymore im sorry
> 
> also... yall remember when i said i had three krisho story ideas... i got a fourth one now... it's a mulitfandom chat fic.... yes im trash, i know


	14. They’re Multiplying

“Okay, so what if… I throw a pebble at him,” Wonho suggested to Jonghyun. 

Jonghyun took out his phone. “Hold on, let me ask Kibum to read his mind-”

“Oh, god, Jonghyun, forget about your boyfriend’s mind reading powers for a second!” Wonho yelled at him, slamming Jonghyun’s phone down. “Clearly Kris is in a funk right now.”

“More like being a bitch,” Jonghyun muttered under his breath, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “Throw a pebble at him, see if he’ll either not react at all or blow up on you.”

The two of them were in one of the libraries in the stronghold, looking for a list of contacts that they had stored down here somewhere. Yifan also happened to be there, albeit a few yards away from them, and they had momentarily forgotten that he had the capacity to hear them. 

Yifan was standing in front of one of the shelves, staring at the books stacked in front of him. They had no idea either what he was doing at the moment nor why he was here in the library (this place was fucking gigantic, how did they keep running into him), but what mainly confused them was that he was also barely moving.

Wonho took out a small pebble that he had had in his coat pocket for the past two days now and held it tentatively in his hands. “... Call your boyfriend and ask him if he can see into the future, I want to see what will happen-”

The doors of the library burst open, Jongdae t-posing. “HEY, IDIOTS, WE HAVE A SITUATION OVER HERE!”

Jongdae, despite being a good fifty feet away from them, was too fucking loud for their liking, and though they all had advanced hearing, Yifan didn’t even flinched. 

“Now what, Renjun tried to stab you again?” Wonho asked him. “Creepy shorty.”

“R- no, I’m not talking about any of the teens, idiot, do you know where Lay and Luhan are right now?!” Jongdae yelled at them. “Course you don’t- KRIS! MAN, PAY ATTENTION YOU TOO!”

The three of them stayed silent, waiting to see if Yifan would react. It wasn’t until a few seconds later when Yifan turned to look at Jongdae, eyes widened in surprise as if Jongdae just suddenly appeared. “Hmmh?”

“Oh jesus fucking christ, Chanyeol! CHANYEOL!” Jongdae yelled, turning around to exit the library, leaving the other three in confusion.

“Hold on, man, what’s going on with Yixing and Luhan?!” Wonho ran after him, not understanding the sudden commotion. 

“I DON’T KNOW, THAT’S WHY I’M ASKING!” 

Jonghyun watched the two of them leaving before taking a deep breath to stand next to Yifan. “Uh, so what was that about?”

Yifan shrugged, glancing at the shelf in front of them again. At the very top, there was a ginormous angel encyclopedia, one of the only of its kind, but Yifan was looking at the Cantonese original, not the Korean translation he and Jackson had made a while back. “I don’t know, probably something stupid if Luhan is involved,” he muttered. “He’s making so many decisions he’s going to regret.”

  
  


***   
  


Chanyeol ran as fast he could through the forest, his mind running a million miles per minute. 

It was the same forest where they stayed underground for a while, just the four of them. Yifan, Chanyeol, Minseok, Luhan, just them four. Gosh, that felt like ages ago, even though it wasn’t even a few months ago, but yet so much has happened in that small period of time that Chanyeol just didn’t even know what the fuck was going on anymore. 

To be fair, he couldn’t sleep last night; he had gotten so used to there being a warm presence besides him as he slept, a tiny curled up Baekhyun safely in his arms as the two drifted off to sleep, away from Song’s group, away from that evil Zitao, away from regular humans with bad intentions, away from everybody. 

It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since Baekhyun had left to go back to Seoul and Chanyeol already hated it. He hated it, call him clingy, crazy, dependent, whatever, but the fact that Baekhyun left while they were on bad terms with each other made it much much worse. 

He stopped running momentarily to catch his breath, looking around. He had memorize the forest out here a long time ago, since he would run around everywhere. Plus, they were pretty far from any sign of humanity, so if they ever needed something like food or materials, it would take a while walking to the nearest store or road to get it. 

He rested for a couple of seconds before running again. He doesn’t remember how long he’s been running since he got of the train from Daegu, probably around… five minutes ago? Ten minutes? Five days? Twenty years? It’s been forever-

Chanyeol sighed in relief when he saw the familiar house come into view, only for another wave of adrenaline to hit him, causing him to run even faster. 

“BAEKHYUN!” Chanyeol shouted, making his way to the porch of the house. The flowers that were in the front of the house back when he first met them had gotten much bigger, with some new smaller buds growing as well. 

He thought of the picnic date he once took Baekhyun to, one of their only dates that they made before they went to Daegu. Gosh, how many dates have they been on, again? Chanyeol had promised him many, gosh, how he had promised Baekhyun so many things but has barely given him anything. 

Chanyeol felt like such an idiot. 

When he reached towards the door, Chanyeol ran his hand through his hair as he gasped for air, ignoring the sweat that had pooled on his head as he pounded the door with the other hand. “BAEKHYUN, PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR, I MISS YOU!!”   
  


Not even five seconds later, a frowning Minseok opened the door. Chanyeol had forgotten that Minseok could actually sense him coming. “What are you- Chanyeol,  _ what  _ in the world-”

“Is Baekhyun here? Is Baekhyun here, Minseok, is Baek-”

Minseok covered Chanyeol’s mouth, giving him a glare, feeling slightly disgusted at how sweaty Chanyeol felt but let it slide. “ _ First  _ of all, Baekhyun is asleep, he went to bed at around 4 am-”

Chanyeol took Minseok’s hand off his mouth. “He should  _ not  _ be sleeping that late! It’s not good for him-"

“And I  _ probably  _ know what happened between you two,” Minseok muttered under his breath.

Chanyeol widened his eyes. “What?”

“Oh, Jesus Christ,” Minseok muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, Chanyeol, I have no information of what’s going between you two as he has refused to talk about it but first of all, I know you ran here and pounding on Baekhyun’s door  _ probably  _ won’t make the situation better-”

“But I need him to know that- that I miss him and I love him…” Chanyeol trailed off. “And how do I know he’s safe here, I know he wants space and freedom but- but Minseok, I’m scared, you know  _ how  _ many times something has almost happened to him-”

Chanyeol started rambling and Minseok couldn’t help but sigh. So  _ that’s  _ what it was about. And, to be fair, he wasn’t surprised, not in the slightest. 

To be fair, it’s particularly the reason why Junmyeon and Baekhyun came back here in the first place. Which was odd,  _ extremely odd _ , since those two wanted to live in the middle of nowhere in this forest to begin with and stay up in their house, but it’s one thing to do it voluntarily, it’s another to be  _ forced.  _

“I’ll go get him, Chanyeol,  _ please  _ be calm and don’t go crazy, he’s still in a mood,” Minseok warned him, heading back into the house. “I know you’re full of adrenaline but this isn’t a life or death situation.”

  
  
***

“Kind of hoping we don’t die right now,” Luhan muttered to himself as he and Yixing hid behind a desk in the room. 

They had stuffed all the crystals in the pillowcase and were thinking of a way to get out. Worst comes to worst, Yixing was capable of making a small explosion, so they could just run through the hole in the wall and make a run for it, but the last thing Luhan wanted was a repeat of the motorcycle incident, so hopefully they could think of a quieter way of getting out of there. 

He rubbed his fingers together, feeling the obsidian alloy dust in his hands. Minseok had an unnatural hatred towards that mineral for some reason, although Luhan didn’t know the specifics why. Maybe because it reminded Minseok of demons and all that? No clue. 

In any other moment, Luhan would question why he was thinking of Minseok in a time like this, but that thought wouldn’t come to him until later. 

Yixing raised up a finger. “I have a plan!” he yelled quietly, turning his head slightly to look around the room. “You might not like it, though-”

“We are  _ not  _ making a commotion as we get out of here,” Luhan harshly whispered to him. “RIP to you, Yixing, but I’m different.”

“RI- where the heck did you even get that from??” Yixing asked him, surprised. “Oh, wait, Hyunjin always talks like that-”

“None of those peasants like me and I know it,” Luhan concluded, looking around the room as well. “Can’t you make a distraction?”

Yixing raised an eye at him. “Maybe but who knows if they can track the source aka me. Since we couldn’t sense them, I’m assuming they have blockers but are they Song’s group?”

“I still want answers to their disappearance but instead we got Zitao rising from the dead,” Luhan muttered under his breath. “Let me just get- oh shit.”

Yixing frowned at Luhan. “ _ Now  _ what?”

Luhan, who was feeling for his side, stared at Yixing with startled eyes, and something clicked in Yixing’s head - didn’t Luhan bring his sword with him today?

_ Oh.  _

“It’s on the floor, I need to get it!” Luhan whispered to him. 

“They are going to come into this room  _ any  _ second now, Luhan!” Yixing said to him. Those were  _ very  _ important swords, how Luhan would even have the audacity to drop it in the first place during a very risky mission was  _ way  _ beyond Yixing’s understanding.

Before he knew what was happening, though, Luhan dashed in front of Yixing, appearing in the middle view of the room as he grabbed the  _ Yīyī zhìyù  _ off the floor, right when the door to the room opened, two people with blockers staring right at him. 

“ _ Fuck, _ ” Yixing murmured, lifting his hand up to create a ball of flame to explode the wall in front of him. 

The guys raised their guns at Luhan, who raised his sword to be prepared to block the bullets. He looked back to see Yixing about to explode the wall, and right at perfect timing, ran backwards while leaping through the hole with Yixing at the same time, ignoring the shouts and bullets flying through them. 

***   
  


Minseok rubbed his eyes as Junmyeon set a cup of tea in front of him. “Thanks, Junmyeon, really.”

Junmyeon shrugged, sitting down on the sofa in front of Minseok. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he whispered, staring at his own teacup. “Course those two fall asleep right when it’s ready. 

The two, in question, were Chanyeol and Baekhyun, who were curled up asleep on the couch, Chanyeol holding onto Baekhyun. From what Junmyeon and Minseok understood, those two had  _ one  _ fight and yet were acting like it was a whole breakup. Which it wasn’t.

Remind Junmyeon how those two were about to have a child again?   
  


Minseok took a sip of the lemongrass tea Junmyeon made, instantly feeling a bit calmer. Junmyeon tended to have that effect on him and Baekhyun, and from Minseok had noticed, also to Yifan. 

Hopefully things were okay between those two. Minseok hadn’t had the time to ask Junmyeon anything either, the latter no doubt keeping himself together since Baekhyun clearly wasn’t. Junmyeon  _ never  _ put his problems first. 

“It’s really good,” Minseok said, taking another sip of the hot tea, not caring that he burned his mouth. “Really, thanks.”

“You say it’s good to everything,” Junmyeon muttered, taking another sip as well before setting it down in front of him, bringing his legs up to the couch. “But, eh, drinking tea at 7 pm isn’t something I usually do. I’m assuming those two are skipping dinner.”

Minseok stood up, stretching his legs. “I can make something if you want, at least there’s stuff in the fridge now,” he said, heading to the kitchen when he stopped, his face falling. 

“Hmm? Minseok, are you okay?” Junmyeon asked, standing up as well. “Minseok-”

Minseok didn’t respond, immediately heading to the front door even though no one had knocked, and opened it wide open, his eyes bulging. 

“WHAT ARE YOU SEVEN DOING HERE?!?!?”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! as to why ive been gone.
> 
> if you guys read my other stories, you know its not that i was just taking too long on this fic, i stopped updating all of them for a while (i just updated like one two days ago finally.) my life is just... not good right now, lol, I have 14 credits (3 class + 1 im auditing), i work a full 40 hours, i have chores and such, I have therapy, I have to fill out forms and shit, yeah,,, sucks right 
> 
> but like ive said! nothing is abandoned, im just not really in a good place right now and probably wont be for some months, but ill try to update as much as i can in the meantime instead of just taking a hiatus. might be once a month, who knows, im sorry :(
> 
> anyways chanyeol and baek enlisted and i wan to die hehe


End file.
